I was gonna write about Google Glass today. Maybe I still will, we’ll see where I go. I do have a fully powered laptop and that’s a good thing because we are getting severe thunderstorms at this moment but, knock on wood, no tornado warnings. But our power, which is usually pretty stable, is flickering like crazy. So, stream of consciousness anyone?

So, one of the beach urchins works at MOCAD in Detroit and Google took over the MOCAD facility this weekend to demo Google Glass. Of course we went. NpJane went with us! So what can I say about Google Glass? In a way, it kind of reminds me of when we bought our first Apple II+ computer. The one that is still hanging out in the Landfill Dungeon and (I think) still powers up. It was so cool to play around with that thing. It is the computer that taught me how to write code (BASIC). If you know one computer language you [arguably] know them all. Was it useful in real life? Not really, with the possible exception of Sticky Bear ABC. We had Excel Visicalc on our Apple II+ and I was so excited about playing around with it but in reality it didn’t help me do anything useful. That’s not that it couldn’t *do* anything useful, just that I didn’t have the time and energy to put into making it useful.

That’s kind of how I felt about Google Glass. All of these cool (and NICE) young folks were there to demonstrate this new device. It was indeed very cool. I struggled a bit though. It took me a while to fully realize that it operated largely via voice commands. I kept trying to swipe and tap the touchpad when I shouldda been giving voice commands. I could get it to give me the directions to my house on the Planet Ann Arbor. It got lost when I tried to find the moomincabin. It seemed like that address was toooo long. Or whatever. I do think that a dedicated, experienced user could’ve accomplished that task.

At any rate, I bet if I wore Google Glass 24-7 for the next two weeks, I would get it to find the moomincabin and I would find other uses for it. I think that things *like* Google Glass are in our future. For now, the usability didn’t totally turn me on. For now, pulling my iPhone personal computer out of my pocket is much more useful. As long as I don’t drop it on concrete! Kee-reist!

Soooo, lunch after Google at the Green Dot, one of our faves down in Detroit. Mix and match sliders and/or side and salads. Friendly and professional service.

Then back to the Planet. The GG wouldda prob’ly wanted to take a nap on Lizard Breath’s couch but I think it was good that we didn’t linger. Our drive was dry but WINDY but we got home well before any of the severe weather blew through. In the end, we were fortunate with the weather here after a day of tornado watches. The storm has passed since I began this bunch of blather. We didn’t get a tornado, just a wimpy little thunderstorm. We still have power. Others in the tier of “flyover states” below ours (Illinois, Indiana, Ohio) were not so lucky. I have no words for that except that I hope the death toll is low…

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