Junk Drawers and AI…
Johnny-on-the-Spot … by John Foster …
According to a new survey, more than three-fourths of Generation Z’ers believe Artificial Intelligence (AI) companions could “completely replace” human relationships.
Now the words “completely replace” makes me scratch my head.
Not sure if I can totally wrap my head around that thought.
Furthermore, 83% of those, born between 1997 and 2012 would consider marrying an AI-generated partner if it were legal.
“I now pronounce you man (or woman) and computer. You may re-boot your mate”.
Strange.
It’s no wonder I also saw a Facebook ad for a starter “junk drawer”.
You mean to tell me there are folks who can’t toss that “I-don’t-need-it-now” stuff into a drawer for future use?
I guess the South African group , known as “4 Jacks and a Jill” had an eye to today when in 1967, they released “Master Jack”.
“It’s a strange, strange world we live in, Master Jack”.
By definition, a junk drawer is “used for storing small, miscellaneous, occasionally useful objects of little to no (or unclear) monetary value”.
I’ve seen prices on line for junk drawer starter kits ranging from about $10 to well over $30.
Now, I didn’t look closely at the Facebook ad for the “starter junk drawer kit” because over the years, we’ve had a number of them.
Currently, I have three; one at work, one in the garage and one in the kitchen.
My work drawer has a bag of beef jerky, two magnifying glasses, a pen that looks very much like a rifle. false “Bubba” teeth, two rulers, several file clips, assorted paper clips, quarters that I can team up with a buck in my wallet to get some sweetened ice tea just to highlight a few.
The garage junk drawer has a container of saw blades, springs, shims, ceramic light fixtures, tacks, wire and a foul-up ruler that extends to about six feet to highlight some of the stuff.
But it’s those kitchen junk drawers I want to get into more deeply.
You need some pencils.
Most will have broken leads, probably no erasers and they’re probably no longer than 3 inches.
You need some Bic pens.
Most WILL NOT have caps and a few may not have that little plastic stopper in the end.
You need a few ball point pens in a good junk drawer.
Several of them won’t write, the “clicker” is missing or the spring on the end of the ink cartridge is long gone.
You gotta have paper clips.
Lots of paper clips.
Paper clips of various sizes, too.
I’m partial to the big ones.
A ruler or two, one wooden and one plastic should be included.
You need several partially used Post-it-Note packs.
Usually yellow.
Serious junk drawer types will have a combination lock or a padlock in the drawer.
If you can locate the proper sequence of numbers to operate the combination for the lock, you’re ahead of most.
Keys for the other locks may or may not be readily available.
Keys, in general, are always tossed into junk drawers.
They are stored there following every door lock change you’ve done in the past 20 years.
If you have a flashlight in the junk drawer, odds are it doesn’t work.
You see, flashlights are the devices for storing dead batteries in.
A deck or two of playing cards may find a home there.
It’s 50/50 if they’re still in the original box but more often than not , they’re kept together with a big rubber band unless it’s simply deteriorated.
If it turns out to be a complete deck, that’s a junk drawer miracle.
You might find a spool of kite string or fishing line, a hole punch and several Bic fire starters and maybe half of them still work.
It’s possible that a junk drawer could use some scissors, zip ties and wrappers for coins that you’ll never take to the bank.
Now, on a dank and dreary day you may remove that junk drawer and while watching TV or listening to music, attempt to organize things.
But, no matter how much stuff you toss or how well you separate or attempt to organize things within a month, it’s back to regular junk drawer status.
Gen Z-ers, a piece of Baby Boomer advice.
Figure out your junk drawer before you hook up with a computer.
“It’s a strange, strange world we live in, Master Jack.”