Whose Intuition?

SMS wants to help us, whoever he is. So when we write an SMS or a message on our cell phones, he tries to figure out what we want to say, and he jumps right in and says it for us.

You're typing quickly, "I am going to scoom," and he will fix it. "I am going to school."

Thanks, S.

However, sometimes it can be very frustrating.

I am a busy person, or overly busy, and in order to accomplish everything in the course of the day, I have to keep a very detailed schedule. My work, my friends, my hobbies, and my family are detailed on my personal calendar.

Lately I've been trying to list all these appointments on my phone (as well as my computer calendar). That has worked great. The phone beeps 10 minutes before each appointment, just enough time to run out to wherever.

Everything was fine until this afternoon when my reminder alarm rang with the words "NATO nails." "NATO nails"? Why would I worry about the nails of European diplomats?

I suddenly realized that it was supposed to be "Bati nails". But because the phone doesn't recognize my daughter Bati's name, it insists on correcting it every time.

I have to figure out how to program "Bati" as well as all kinds of other pertinent not-really-English words into it.

There are also intuitive computers. In Disney World, there's an ET ride where you tell the computer your name at the beginning. When you "land" back on earth, it says, "Welcome, Sharon."

Well, we traveled many years ago to Disney and we all told the computer our names. When we landed it said, "Welcome, Sharon." "Welcome, Barney." Barney?? I guess they must have thought we made a mistake when we said, "Bati" and the computer fixed it.

Umpgh.

These new fangled inventions. You gotta love 'em, but you gotta learn to live with 'em.

Gotta run and take NATO Barney to have her nails done.