I had a weird and funny flashback yesterday. The fact that this was triggered by something at work was what made it weird...and funny, too. I thought about a cartoon that I hadn't thought about in many, many years.
I sit outside my boss's office and because of the glass walls I am able to see directly in just by glancing up. I was having a tough day and late in the afternoon I looked up from my laptop and glanced into his office. I realized he was meeting with another director from our California office. No - this director was not visiting our location, he was still in his California office and my boss was here in Texas. They were talking and viewing each other as if they were in the same room. My boss had recently installed a flat screen monitor made specifically for these live, real time, on-screen viewing meetings. What I saw when I glanced up was the director from California talking to my boss on screen as if he were there in person.
At first glance it instantly reminded me of the cartoon The Jetsons. I could almost picture Mr. Spacely on screen yelling at George Jetson for some reason or other. Way back when, The Jetsons was a futuristic cartoon. The idea of seeing someone while you were talking to them without being in the same place at the same time was, well, a cartoon. It was something that wasn't going to happen for a very long period of time...like way in the future. Of course, I came across that idea again when reading J.D. Robb's series about futuristic homicide cop, Eve Dallas. She uses her cell phone and voice commands it to either vid on or vid off depending if she wants the caller to be able to see her or not.
I sit outside my boss's office and because of the glass walls I am able to see directly in just by glancing up. I was having a tough day and late in the afternoon I looked up from my laptop and glanced into his office. I realized he was meeting with another director from our California office. No - this director was not visiting our location, he was still in his California office and my boss was here in Texas. They were talking and viewing each other as if they were in the same room. My boss had recently installed a flat screen monitor made specifically for these live, real time, on-screen viewing meetings. What I saw when I glanced up was the director from California talking to my boss on screen as if he were there in person.
At first glance it instantly reminded me of the cartoon The Jetsons. I could almost picture Mr. Spacely on screen yelling at George Jetson for some reason or other. Way back when, The Jetsons was a futuristic cartoon. The idea of seeing someone while you were talking to them without being in the same place at the same time was, well, a cartoon. It was something that wasn't going to happen for a very long period of time...like way in the future. Of course, I came across that idea again when reading J.D. Robb's series about futuristic homicide cop, Eve Dallas. She uses her cell phone and voice commands it to either vid on or vid off depending if she wants the caller to be able to see her or not.
But this wasn't a cartoon or futuristic novel. This was late yesterday afternoon at work after a tough day. Glancing up at that moment and thinking about Mr. Spacely made me feel weird and funny all at the same time.
Who would have thought technology would catch up to a cartoon? Who knew that after such a tough day one simple thought would be all I needed. But it was.
Who would have thought technology would catch up to a cartoon? Who knew that after such a tough day one simple thought would be all I needed. But it was.
I am still smiling just thinking about it.
TT
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