Feeling out of control in your life? Join the club. Not only is there a growing gap between rich and poor around the world, but the gap between society’s leaders and the man in the street is enough to leave anyone queasy. Take, for example, the gap between the way scientists view the world and the rest of us. Start with the need to vaccinate children. 86% of scientists think vaccinations should be required while only 68% of the public agrees. 87% of scientists say climate change is caused by human activity. Only 50% of the public concurs. 98% of scientists say humans evolved over time. 66% of public beg to differ. (The Week, Feb. 13, 2015 pg. 14.)
Of course, almost everyone around the globe recognizes the gap between voters and the people they elect…and with good reason. Argentina’s President, President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, for example, is on the brink of being indicted as a suspect in the murder of a witness who was ready to testify on her illicit dealings with Iran. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a French presidential hopeful and former head of the International Monetary Fund who lost his job in a sex scandal, is in the headlines again, as well. He denies the charge that he organizes sex orgies for the elite and explains that when he was caught frolicking on a mattress with 7 naked women, he had no idea they were prostitutes. (The Week, Feb. 13, 2015, pg. 6) In the United States, we’ve had more “gate” scandals than there are sheep to jump over them: Nixon’s Watergate, the CIA’s Spygate and Governor Chris Christie’s Bridgegate are tips of the iceberg.
All these gaps between the people on the streets and those roaming the palaces of justice would leave a person feeling helpless and out of control if it weren’t for technology. Thanks to apps, at least we can take charge of ourselves. With them we can monitor our heart rate, our sleep habits, our calorie intake and the number of miles we walk in a day. Now, a new app, RunPee (99cents), gives us more.
This app keeps up-to-date on the running time of the newest films To use at the theater, start the countdown as the movie begins and “your phone will vibrate when you have a few minutes to go to the bathroom or get a snack without missing a crucial plot twist.” (“7 Things Movie Theater Managers Want You to Know,” by Brooke Showell, Woman’s Day, March 2015, pg.138.) No more gaps to spoil movie watching. As for control, your bladder will thank you.
Courtesy of presurfer.blogspot.com
