too much tech

the telecommumications industry is in a tizzy right now.. devices that are supposed to make life easier are complicating things more, and all sorts of people are getting their hands on all sorts of things they should not have access to in the first place!!

early this spring garage doors all over the US started creaking open slowly.. seemingly of their own accord.. only later was it realised that the new radio frequencies being used by the Army were actually to blame. the Air Force has now asked a private company to step in to restructure the allotment of frequencies!

air-traffic-control transmissions are frequently interrupted by bursts of static and wailing babies.. apparently baby monitors are to blame. the same baby monitors have also been responsible for eavesdropping on phone calls!
      ATC: ".. this is JFK calling Flight 234.. please respond.. "
  Baby: ".. goo goo.. gaa gaa.. "
      ATC: "Flight 234.. please respond.. "
  Baby: ".. mmmmm.. "
      ATC: "Red Alert! Red Alert!! Hijack alert for Flight 234!! Scramble the fighter jets!!"
  Baby: "waaaaah!! uwaaaahhh!!"
      ATC: "Inform the President! Shutdown Wall Street! Prepare to die!!"

two new devices completely kick-ass!! Cell-Block-R jams cellphones, preventing their use in restricted areas. cinema theaters will be one of the first to employ (and benefit!) this blocker! don't you just hate people who obstinately refuse to switch their phones off in theaters.. and even worse, some people find it necessary to regale their friends with a running commentary of what's happening onscreen on the phones too!!

the other is TV-B-Gone, which switches off all tvs within a longish range of upto 50ft, and fits on your keychain! it has been widely used to switch off tvs in noisy bars and crowded airport lounges quite undetected. i have particularly wanted this baby whenever i'm at Port Authority in NYC, cos they insist on showing the same news shows over and over and over.. grrr!!

finding your cellphone losing signal at home? blame your microwave. does your cordless phone get static whenever you're doing laundry? try stepping away from your clothes dryer. and has your wi-fi speed fallen drastically since you got a new wireless keyboard? do we really need all this hi-tech?!