I just read about a scale that is a kinder, gentler device that measures your body weight. It is called a Quantum scale and only tells you how many pounds you’ve lost, keeping you blissfully in the dark about what you currently weigh.

At last! A device that actually tells us only what we want to know, instead of what we could go our entire lives not knowing. Right behind this invention should be the refrigerator that tells you what you really want to eat, and whether it is currently stocking it at the moment; an email program that acts as a speed bump in the rocky road of love, and keeps you from sending out drunken emails to your ex; cameras that refuse to take your picture, because it is akin to a loyal friend, and knows that you look like a parolee from the local jail after a night of sleeping on that wooden bench.

There are already cars that can park for you, although I don’t know if these cars can ascertain whether they should even try to squeeze in between that SUV and that Hummer. A car that has human qualities would be endearing, but would negate the benefit of having an intelligent car that can parallel park. A car that would tell you in no uncertain terms that you really shouldn’t go down that unpaved road into the woods because something wicked that way comes, would be invaluable.

I can think of all kinds of things I’d like to have that would tell me only what I need to know, family members being high on that list, but unlikely to happen without a lot of prior training, and perhaps some genetic shuffling before they are even conceived. I started out thinking I could equate the Quantum scale with blogging, but now I’m not sure I can.

The dashboard of a blog already tells us who read which post, how many people looked at your blog that day, and whether you spelled ‘thier’ correctly. It doesn’t tell you that your writing sucks, and no one is interested in reading your posts, although with a little insight, I guess you’d eventually figure it out, anyway.