I would never survive in the wilderness...

As we become more technically advanced, life gets easier. We flick a switch to make light. We turn a knob to get hot water. We press a button to speak with someone on the other side of the world.

I've heard many people say that the downside of all this is that if we ever lose our technology then we'll be helpless. What if a giant sunburst knocked out all of the power plants in the country? Would you know what to do without electricity? What if you were left on a desert island like Tom Hanks in Castaway? I doubt that I'd make it out alive.

These are the things that run through my head after an interesting moment this morning. I dropped off my car for service (stupid pot holes all over the place) and they gave me a rental car for the day. It was early, and I was late for work, so I just hopped in and drove off.

Well, when I got to work I got out of the car and went to press the button on the key remote to lock the doors. But as I looked down, there was no remote there. Weird. Ok, so I figured I would just have to do it the old fashioned way and press the "lock" button on the inside of the door. But when I opened the door there was no button.

I swear I stood there for at least 5 seconds in panic. How the hell am I going to lock the car?? There's no button!! How do the doors lock??

I had to reach back in to my memories to a time when I had a car with manual locks. Then I slowly walked to each door and pressed down the lock.

No wonder I never made it to the end of Boy Scouts.

One step closer to SkyNet

This is one of the few times that technology has freaked me out... for a few minutes.

Last night I was catching up on some shows from my DVR (I think I was watching Reaper at the time). All of a sudden, I heard my house phone ring.

Yes, I do have a house phone... but I don't use it, and I don't give out the number. So generally I ignore any calls that come in.

Anyway, I was laying there and the phone started ringing downstairs in the kitchen. I ignored it and kept watching TV. But then after 2 or 3 rings, a little window popped up on my TV with a caller ID screen - telling me who was calling... on the phone downstairs.... which isn't connected to the TV in my bedroom (or so I thought).

The first thing I did was check the brands on my TV and phone. I thought that maybe Samsung products could talk to each other. Then I thought that maybe my Lan Line was using some Blue Tooth connection. Or maybe my TV just liked snooping on wireless phone signals. It really freaked me out.

And then I realized that I have the Comcast Triple Play. So my phone calls travel over my Cable TV lines. So I'm guessing my cable box was what actually displayed the caller ID box.

It's a good thing that I'm a level-headed person, or that story may have ended with my TV being thrown out the window and me digging a bomb shelter under the house.