Saturday, March 31, 2007

The American Way: Upto the minute forecast

Another cold day, here at Farmington Hills, MI. It looks like it might rain. I am stuck in my hotel room on this Saturday too. I have no car as I my US driving license expired a few years ago and I do not have an Indian driving license. The place is a typical suburbia with little public transportation facility.

My co-workers staying in the same hotel want to go out for lunch. I think it is fine as I'm getting sick of my own cooking and reheating of frozen food. For every decision after that, you need an extra information, called weather. Should I wear the thermals, should I wear just a sweater or do I need a jacket? Can we go by taxi or just walk the distance? You need to know the weather before you venture out, be it by car or by any other mode of transportation. In tropical countries like India, there is not much to decide. At best, you may have to carry an umbrella if think you need it.

So, you need to know the weather. What is the best way to know the weather? I find myself going to my Google Home page, check the temperature and plan accordingly. I find it absurd when I can feel the weather simply by getting out of my hotel, I am so dependent on the systems that predict and tell the temperature. I think systems like this are useful for some part and then they begin dictating our lives. This is probably unique to the US.

More on how systems affect sensible way of living later.

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