"Technology and the Ohtani Effect"

Perhaps you've heard of Major League Baseball's "next Babe Ruth," the new Japanese import who can hit AND pitch (like The Babe.)  Up until he got hurt recently, his fans were boasting that "one man filled two needs on his team's roster." But now that he may be out of commission until 2020, those same fans are lamenting that his team has, in effect, LOST two valuable players....and some question the wisdom of signing him in the first place.

The Angels RELIED TOO MUCH ON SHOHEI OHTANI, you see.  Oh, it worked great when HE was working, but now that he's out of commission, well, it's quite another story.

The same is true with our (what I call) over-reliance on technology.

*   When our cell-phones work, they are great but when they don't, why, we are in BIG trouble.  There are no PAYPHONES anymore if you're stranded on the road, and you won't know the number of someone to call for help WITHOUT being able to access data in your phone (unless you have a paper copy of important numbers, or a great memory), ANYway!!

*   When our GPS works right, it's fantastic but who knows how to read a paper MAP anymore....who knows how to GIVE directions anymore....if the GPS shuts down?? (Not many!!)

*   Our COMPUTERS are great till they act up, then they SLOW our work down and, in some cases, wipe it out totally.

*   E-Z PASS helps traffic move quicker when it works right, but what about when the unit acts up and YOU get an expensive ticket because E-Z PASS was broken??  And it's not always so "E-Z" to get a live person the phone to help you rectify matters, Lol!!

I could go on and on, but here's the point....don't be like the Angels and Shohei Ohtani.

Don't think that this new technology can replace the "Babe Ruth" that is your brain...Babe Ruth has been "around" since you were born (unless you're more than 115 years old) and so has the brain God gave you.  DON'T RELY SO MUCH ON THE SHOHEI OHTANI TECHNOLOGY THAT YOU'LL BE LOST WHEN IT GOES KAPUT.  Keep using your mind...not losing your mind.

And this newfangled technology WILL (go Kaput)...............when it does, what seemed to be a blessing can quickly be revealed to be a CURSE because this stuff is making us too lazy (mentally and physically), too dependent on it and too.............................WISHY-WASHY.

In closing, even though "nothing really happened" on Y2k 18 years ago, there were lessons to be learned and it is my opinion that most Americans did NOT learn them, sorry to say.

Don't lean on technology so much, and Beware the Ohtani Effect!!