I think we are getting soft.

Every once in a while, we get a Steve Jobs, or an Alexander Graham Bell.  Heck… even an Albert Einstein… or a Harriet Tubman.

But really, these days… the inventions… well…. for the most part…..

….. they suck.

People used to take the time to really come up with some astounding innovations.  I used this photo as an example of one particular gleaning of craftsmanship and the commitment to artistry, and technique.   The workmanship of long ago.  Yes, this ornamental apex is so high up on a building, it took a 300mm lens to shoot.  The man or woman who designed this, did so, for the sake of beauty, art, and expression… despite the fact that it would not be seen by most people.

But these days, it is mostly about the quick and easy.

I am deeply troubled by some of the things on the market today.

I just saw an ad on television (TV… now, there is a great invention, if you ask me)…. But. Yes.  I just saw an ad on TV for “Pajama Jeans” —  All the comfort of pajama bottoms, made to stretch, extend, and give way… all the while looking like denim jeans.

You will not catch me wearing a pair of Pajama Jeans on my own volition.  They seem… somehow…. contemptible and corrupt.

Or the new fitness cooking tool called the “Fat Magnet” —  Yes folks, this thing “soaks up grease like a magnet… to remove fat & calories instantly.”   We use a good old fashioned paper towel in our house… if there’s just too much grease on something.  They come in stylish rolls and sit right on your kitchen counter.  You can use them for a lot of other things too.  AND… they don’t cost 24.95.

Another great new idea… is the “One Second Needle” — Thread it in one second.  Just loop, pull, and viola’, it is threaded.  I am not buying it.  Figuratively or literally.  Not for $10 plus $6.99 shipping and handling.  For one, how much can it cost to ship a needle?  For another thing, the eye of that sucker better be the size of a tennis racket for me to thread it in one second.  I kid you not.

Yep.  We are soft.

Now the wheel.  That was a good invention.  And boy oh boy… did it go a LONG way. (No pun intended).  But really, where would cars be without them?   What would you put your shoulder to?   There would be no “Wheeler Dealers”  and kids couldn’t do “Wheelies” on their bikes.  We would lug dirt around in things called barrows.  It just goes on and on, really.

Those cavemen were thinkers.  Yes sir.   They came up with fire too…  another biggie.

And Buffalo Dinosaur Wings….  the first UGGs…  Golf (… well, the first clubs, at least)…    Pajama Hides….  the first “Man Cave”…  and…

… you know… tonight… I might just start working on re-inventing the wheel.