Tuesday, December 04, 2001

Why did I sleep so late yesterday? Because I couldn't resist staying up to find out what Dean Kamen's "It" or "Ginger" - as it was called - was. It debuted on the Good Morning America show yesterday morning and I have to admit, it was a bit of a letdown, sure it's neat, sure it looks like a kick to ride and yes, I'm certain it has many useful applications in business and perhaps in the private sector - it runs clean and cheap and you can ride around on one all day for about twelve cent's worth of electricity - however, I was sort of hoping for a hovercraft or a jetpack or something. I suppose after all the hype, if Dean had done anything less than come on GMA and literally walk on water, people would have been dissapointed. Still, it's a nifty little scooter, I guess...sigh. Oh, by the way, it's called a "Segway" now. Just don't be too hard on Mr. Kamen - he did, after all, invent things like the heart stint in our VP's ticker, a portable kidney dialysis machine, an insulin pump and other great humanitarian inventions, including a mobility device for paralytics that allows them to move around upright and walk up and down stairs, over gravel and other obstacles. My friend Steve's a paraplegic and I can tell you that something of that nature would really be a godsend, it's hard to even PUSH someone in a wheelchair over gravel. In the end, even if all Dean had rolled out on Good Morning America had been a little red toy wagon, he's still to be applauded and I'm sure there are uses for the Segway that nobody's even thought of.Segway

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