The Independent American Magazine for all Mini Owners
Issue link: http://mc2.epubxp.com/i/33536
on the apex Technology: Not by Peter D. DuPre, Editor All It’s Cracked Up To Be hose of you who know me are aware that when it comes to new tech gadgetry, I am something of a curmudgeon. I look on much of the “cool” electronic wizardy on the market as flashy trinkets designed to amuse and entertain more than they are designed to actually serve a useful purpose. It is not that I don’t like technology. On the contrary, when technology works as advertised, it’s great; and I own a myriad of modern electronic gadgets that I use daily in both my personal and professional lives. The problem with a lot of technology as I see it is that much of it seems to answer a question that no one has asked. That, plus it seems designed for use by people who have fingers the size of a three-year old! The big problem with technol- ogy, however, is not that it doesn’t work, or that it offers solutions to problems that don’t really exist, or even that it allows us to spend all our free time texting. No, the problem with technology is that we have become too dependent on it. We over rely on it, assuming that it is fault free and 100 percent reliable. That kind of thinking can get you in trouble. It can get you killed. Take the case of Albert and Rita Chretien, a Canadian couple from Penticton, British Colum- bia who started out on a road trip this past March to Las Vegas and ended up being stranded in the Nevada wilderness because they relied on their GPS to give them the shortest route to their next destination. The GPS mapped out a route across a wilderness area on a road that is impassable much of the year. The couple drove for some miles over this route in their Chevrolet van before becoming stuck in mud. After many futile attempts to free the stuck truck, Albert decided to hike out for help and has yet to be found. Rita Chretien stayed with the van, living on trail mix and a little water for some seven weeks before some adven- turesome offroaders found the very weak Mrs. Chretien. So what had the couple done wrong? Having been seduced by the technology, they had relied entirely on their GPS unit for directions. A GPS unit is no substitute for a road map. Sure, in some ways it is better than a road map, since it will provide you with audible directions, guide you to the nearest restaurant, motel, or gas station and even electronically chart your progress 8 www.mc2magazine.com as you go merrily on your way. It does not, however, tell you if a road is closed due to snow load, whether there is road construction along your route, if a bridge is washed out, etc. It may not even tell you if the route it has mapped out is over paved or gravel surfaces. You find these things out by asking locals, calling the highway patrol, reading the road map, and looking out the window as you drive. If things don’t look or feel right, don’t take the mapped route. Turn around, go back to town, and ask a local for another op- tion – or read your road map. Certainly a GPS unit is useful, but it is not a standalone technology. Use it in conjunction with your cell phone and a road map. You’ll find that they complement each other. And while I am on the proverbial soapbox, stay off of Twitter and Facebook while you drive, even if your MINI has a hands free access. You can check or tweet when you stop at a roadside rest or for lunch at the drive in. Being consumed with social networking while behind the wheel is a distraction to driving safety. Combine this distraction with blindly following your GPS and you could end up lost and stranded on a lonely road somewhere in the darkness. Calling Group4 A few months ago MC2 ran a spy photo of a new diffuser being tested. The product, being developed by a new company called Group4, immediately attracted reader attention, so we fol- lowed up with a more detailed feature story on the company in Issue 26. Principles Wayne Christen- son, Mark Vogle, Joel Seymour and Russell Roth design, test and build aerodynamic body parts for MINIs including the aforementioned diffuser, as well as aerodynamic body kits and rear wings. You may have seen them at the last two Minis On The Dragon. They have also been running a small display classified in our Business Directory at the back of every issue. If you have tried calling them, then you know that the phone number in the ad is wrong. The ad in this issue (pg 58) has the correct phone number, and just to make sure everyone knows it, I am printing it here: 814.563.1669. Give them a call; they’d love talking to you about your performance needs. photo: KL DuPre C ve t sure lo on tact me at: edi r f o he a ro tor u. m yo @mc2magaz ie.com. I’d n T