Tech-ing It Too Far

By Brianne Harrison

Don’t get me wrong—I like technology. I appreciate all the things techy gadgets allow us to do now, like help find a missing dog quickly—but there are limits to my tech love, and in some pet-related areas, I think I’m starting to reach it.

On the good side, there’s this story of a man who used an iPhone app to find his 8-year-old lab Maise, who had escaped from the owner’s yard and disappeared, managing to rip off her collar in the process. Her owner, William Coxe, started by putting up flyers, and then a friend told him about a website called FindToto.com, which helps recover lost pets. Coxe accessed the site using an iPhone app, which, for a fee, also contacted 2,500 of his neighbors and left them a message with the dog’s description and Coxe’s contact info. The call finally reached the person who had Maise, and she was back home in under 2 hours. Now, that’s the power of technology!

But of course, as with anything, it can be taken a little too far. By fall, we should see not one but two gadgets out on the market that allow your dog to send tweets on Twitter. Yes, that’s right, soon your dog can spend its day tweeting away about all the fascinating things it’s doing, like sleeping and scratching behind its ear.

The first product due to be released is an iPhone app called Bowlingual. The app, which has already been released in Japan, claims to translate your dog’s barks using a special algorithm, essentially allowing your dog to “speak”. That translation can then be posted to Twitter so everyone knows your dog really wants its dinner. NOW.

The second product, which will be released by Mattel in the fall, is a tweeting dog collar known as Puppy Tweet. Put the collar on your dog and every time he or she moves, barks, or growls, it sends out a pre-programmed tweet (example: I bark because I miss you—there, now hurry home), allowing you to obsessively follow your dog’s every move throughout the day. Oh, and just in case we weren’t sure yet that dogs have become the new babies, the collar is available in two colors only: pink and blue.

Now, I love my dogs, but I don’t really feel the need to know what they’re doing every moment of the day. I know what they’re doing—sleeping, snoring loudly, and occasionally getting up to get some water to drink. Although at one point, for our own amusement, my fiancé and I dreamed up a rich fantasy life for our dogs that had them building a biplane while we were out of the house, I’m fairly sure that their lives are much duller than that. But hey, maybe my feelings just mean I don’t love them quite enough.

What do you think?

Technology at the Table

By Maureen C. Petrosky

Sunday night dinner at my mom’s is an informal affair where the siblings come if they can and no dress code is required. It’s casual, comforting, and always delicious. This past Sunday night my mom, known for being a straight shooter, nonchalantly asked, “So, what do you think of technology at the table?” I blushed as I put down my i-Phone, and was equally ashamed to see my brother scrolling through his and my sister- in-l aw with hers placed delicately next to her knife. Can we really not get through one meal without knowing the score, reading a text, or upping a bid?

I’m guilty all the way around. I find myself anxious and edgy if I’m not connected all the time. The phone has become a natural extension of my hand. Even as I write this I see how silly it seems to use the word connected. If we’re all staring at a screen we are definitely not connecting. If we were, Sunday night dinner could be conducted over SKYPE. Maybe we’d actually pay more attention. Individual phones have created some strange ripples in how we socialize. Many of my friends, even though married or in a relationship, still seem single to me. You see as more people skip the extra trouble and expense of landlines and choose to have their own phones, there’s no chance I will accidentally have to make small talk with their spouses, thus creating odd moments to actually connect when we get together in person. The cell phone isn’t something you answer for someone else, it’s private and with that comes serious social boundaries.

With the biggest dinner event of the year being next Thursday, I suggest you turn off the technology at least long enough to enjoy the turkey and mashed potatoes, as well as those you’ve chosen to share them with. If you’re wondering about last Sunday night’s dinner, don’t—everything came up roses anyway. With this gorgeous fall weather we were able to play in the leaves, kick around a soccer ball, and sip some rose. These pinks aren’t just for summer. In fact, they are perfect for swirling in fall when you’re not quite ready for big reds. Here’re two to try before or with your turkey.

Parallele 45 Rose, 2008, $12.99 This is a dry pink that’s perfect as an aperitif or alongside oven roasted turkey or pork loin. It’s full of cherries but has added interest with its minerality.

Castello Monaci Kreos Rosato, 2008, $12.99 I was tricked by the Kreos, thinking at first this was a rose from Greece. But I was not disappointed to find this little Italian pink was juicy, with a round body full of luscious juicy fruit.

*Taste these side by side to learn a little about how different pinks are from around the world.

Book Beat: Full Book Access Online ... and it's FREE

By Kimberly Baldwin

In hopes of boosting book sales, HarperCollins has started offering free electronic editions of some of its titles. Right now, and through the month, you can check out: Paulo Coelho’s The Witch of Portobello; I Dream in Blue: Life, Death, and the New York Giants by Roger Director; Mark Halperin’s The Undecided Voter's Guide to the Next President: Who the Candidates Are, Where They Come from, and How You Can Choose; Mission: Cook!: My Life, My Recipes, and Making the Impossible Easy by Robert Irvine; and Warriors: Into the Wild, the first volume of the bestselling children’s series by Erin Hunter. Did I mention that you can view these books in their entirety ... as in the same way you might flip through the pages at your favorite bookshop? Additionally, HarperCollins is helping create some pre-sale buzz by offering up to 20% of its many new titles online at least two weeks before the actual "on sale" date. No excuses, get reading!