RAINER'S RAMBLINGS
Modern technology
By RAINER ARNOLD

I was talking to a friend of mine recently and he told me that he saw a picture of woman where someone had doctored it up a little and put a man's head on it and you could not tell. So, I started looking around and I found some other interesting pictures on the internet that had been doctored up. But that is not the subject of this rambling. Rather, the fact that modern technology is so sophisticated now-days that you can actually do that. It is just fascinating. Just think, you take a picture of two people walking down the street and someone can cut that other person out or insert a new person and get you into trouble.

Just think, my wife and I are walking down the street and someone takes a picture with their digital camera. Then the erase my wife out of the picture and replace her with another woman. Then send the picture to my wife. I would have a lot of explaining to do. So, can you see how good and bad it could be to have this ability. You could even insert a car on the street going the wrong way. The possibilities are endless. The damage this technology could do. WOW!!

Then you go to the other extreme. I have a GPS in my truck. I supposedly can't get lost. Wrong!! It is not working right and not every street is on there. So, today, I was in Toccoa trying to find a house to complete an appraisal. Well, the directions I got off the GPS were wrong. I drove around for an hour. Then I stopped at this Maryland Friend Chicken place in Toccoa and as I was walking in to ask for help, I noticed this older guy in an old truck in the drive-thru line. I asked him if he was a local. He was. So I asked him if he knew of that road. And indeed he did and he explained it to me. I found the place in less than 5 minutes.

Then later on the way home, I was eating some BBQ in Helen and a guy walks in and asked how to get to Alexander's. No one knew. So, I asked him if it was the Alexander's in Union County. He nodded and I proceeded to give him very good directions as to how to get there. Then another couple asked if I knew where Papi's Store was near Blairsville. I also gave them good directions.

So, the point is that some of this new technology is good and maybe even a little scary. But people to people interaction is still the best. After all, you really feel good when you can help someone.