Just a Button-Pushing Monkey

I have accidentally taken pictures of the inside of my pocket and also hip-dialed my parents. I have received an odd text about a bodily function from a stranger, and a cryptic one that sounded like a drug deal from someone I don't know.

I am not a texter because I don't see the point in spending 10 minutes typing out a conversation I could wrap up over the phone in one. So for the New Year, I am resolving to ditch my fancy-schmancy phone for the one I ungraciously tossed aside a few months ago. Yep, I just want a phone to make phone calls.

As you may have guessed by reading this, I am a late adopter of most technology. My computer serves as a glorified typewriter. My nickname in the office is button-pushing monkey because, when something goes wrong with my computer, my first instinct is to smash it with a stick like the apes at the start of 2001: A Space Odyssey. While hardly a solution any IT guru would recommend, and one that has yet to resolve any of my technical issues, it is strangely satisfying. If I learned nothing else from the Terminator movies it's that the machines are out to get us, so keep them in line while we still can.

Okay, I'm not really that much of a technophobe. My wife and I used to fight for time on our laptop at home, so we purchased an iPad. Now the laptop often sits in the corner like a spurned lover as we each vie for the coveted iPad like Gollum. (But we wants to use the preciousssss!) I enjoy technology, but I'm far from the first in line when the next new thing rolls out.

So, yes, the irony is not lost on me that I was the one to tackle the three-part series on NH's emerging tech ecosystem. While my heart may not skip a beat about the hot new gadget or app, I do get excited about the NH companies that are producing them.

This is an exciting time for our state as private sector leaders help drive and nurture economic and technological innovation. And the private sector should take the lead, as it has more knowledge and resources to do so than government.

However, as the final story in the tech series points out, the emerging tech ecosystem that holds so much promise also faces real threats that the public sector can and should address.

Chief among them is the dearth of resources at all levels of public education. We need to invest more so we can produce the talent so essential to our future. And, schools must become more innovative in their approach to math and science to entice more kids to enter the STEM fields. Please don't leave us button-pushing monkeys to fend for ourselves.