I met a man today who’s spent his working life to date as a tech
consultant. He was probably in his mid to late forties. He told me that when he
started out he loved the ingenuity of modern technology and enjoyed working
with it, but now he feels very differently. He said it’s moving too quickly, it’s
too full of glitches, and it’s allowing all manner of ne’er-do-wells to know
your business and habits. And that enables them to cheat you, manipulate you,
and steal from you. He said it’s a world he doesn’t want to work in any longer
and is looking for ways to scale back and live a simpler life. So maybe I’ve
been getting it right all along.
* * *
I read this morning of a woman in London who took a used cardboard envelope to
a public bin to dispose of it. She found the bin full, but there was a pile of
cardboard next to it awaiting collection so she put the envelope on top and thought
no more about it. And then she received a letter from the local council accusing
her of fly tipping and fining her £1,000 which she hasn’t got (lots of people
haven’t.) This is the wild, wondrous, and wonky way of bureaucracy in modern Britain. The
cataract is beginning to look inviting.
* * *
I wish I could remember where I put my sense of humour and my aptitude for a neat turn of phrase.
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