When Things Do Work

For a reason as of yet unknown, iPhoto has stopped working on our Mac here. It seems like either our iPhoto library got corrupted or a few pictures got minced. I'm not sure which, if either, yet. I was trying to fix it most of the day yesterday, with no luck yet. Frustrating, of course. But it got me thinking.

Given the huge volume of technology we use today it's an incredibly positive thing that, most of the time, it all functions properly. Our lives are wrapped in a dense layer of "things that could break at any moment", but generally they don't. You've got your normal household appliances, plus your smaller, less frequently used gadgets like breadmakers and Jack LeLanne Power Juicers. There's your sinks and toilets and tubs and other lesser technologies. You've got the tools used to fix all that stuff when they stop working, which can themselves stop working. And then there's the layer of infrastructure that supports all those gadgets and household amenities, your electric and plumbing. Your heating and air-conditioning systems. Your computer. Here, not only do you have the computer itself, but the inordinate programs you install and run on a daily basis. Each program exists as its own separate potential for failure.

Then there's you car, your bike, your riding mower, and all the tech you use at work, etc., etc. You see what I'm saying? There's even the technology that you don't own which can break and impact your life. That is a lot of potential breakdowns!

Yet most of the time everything works. Try and remember that on the odd occasion that something does flame out in a fabulous firestorm of flaming failure. Just get it fixed and then keep cruising along in the world where things do work. You'll get a flat occasionally, but very rarely given the number of tires you're riding on.

This helps put things in perspective for me.