Good Grief!

I think I've seen just about everything now! I just finished reading an article in the Washington Times about high-tech washers and dryers. Here's some selections from the story:

Dormitory suds go digital
By Marguerite HigginsTHE WASHINGTON

College students, who traditionally don't mind a little slovenliness, are getting high-tech help with their laundry. An online laundry system, spreading on campuses nationwide, has been installed in nine of the residence halls with laundry facilities at American University in Northwest Washington. The system, connected to all of the university's 283 new washers and dryers, enables students to check via the Internet whether and when an appliance is available.

"It's nice because students can pull up the status of the laundry room and better schedule their time," says Julie Weber, executive director for housing and dining programs. The laundry system, called E-Suds.net, tracks the use of the washers and dryers, informing students when a washer is done with a load or how much time is left in a washing or drying cycle.

E-suds tells the 3,300 students in American University's dorms when their laundry loads are done through a text message to a cell phone or a personal digital assistant (PDA) or through e-mail.

So far, the reaction from American University students, who started classes Friday, has been "ecstatic," Mrs. Weber says. "It was one of the services that got the biggest response during orientation this summer."

"What we've heard from students is it saves them a lot of time, especially for students who live in big dorms and don't want to wait around for their laundry to get done," says marketing manager Nicole Panas.

Who in the world would ever have thought that LAUNDRY could become so upgraded? While I will admit that it would be quite nice to check the internet to see if the four washers/dryers in the BASEMENT of Turner Hall are available without dragging everything downstairs, and it would be nice to know via cell phone/PDA if my clothes are done, isn't this, to some extent, taking the 'lazy American' thing a little far? I mean even though it is inconvenient, and it is, is it really that much trouble? I'm just not sure that it is.

Crazy times, crazy times.

IN OTHER NEWS:

• Robert C. Byrd will be visiting Shepherd University on September 16 at 4pm. I have already made proper provisions to take that day OFF so that I can go and hear him speak on the Constitution. Like him or not, he knows the Constitution better than most, and it should be interesting to hear him speak. In the mean time, however, I will be searching the internet for a 'Republican and Proud' (or some similar slogan) T-shirt. Ben, a friend of mine here at SU, is also planning to go in his 'Republican and Proud' T-shirt. Should be interesting.
• The scariest thing about non-believers is that they WANT to believe in God. Yesterday Dr. Bergman was explaining how he believes that looking at the planets in the sky is the single most beautiful thing that any human is able to see. He went on to explain that he can remember one time when he was coming to Shepherd very early in the morning to grade papers when he saw a line of bright and brilliant lights. He said that, at first, he thought they were helicopters just over the tree line. So he stopped and turned off his car. When he noticed that there was no noise coming from the 'helicopters,' it dawned on him that it was a line of planets (4 or 5 maybe?) "marching through the night sky." He then proclaimed, "If I didn't already know better, I may have actually bought in to that bullshit Intelligent Design garbage." He wants to believe, I know he does!
• Thirdly and finally, it should be known by all that Sara Evans is a remarkable singer/song writer and I have been lucky enough to stumble upon a copy of her last CD. I just can't get enough of it. That's how good it is!