Photo: Jimmy JoeMany improvements in technology shift the production possibility frontier outward. Many of these increase human happiness, and a few do this by increasing marital harmony (Viagra?).
One piece of technology my wife and I just acquired does all of these while saving that most precious of all things — time.
Our car’s G.P.S. device — Gertrude, as we call ours — led us from a rural road in Portugal back to our condominium with no hassle, no spousal arguments about which road to take, and no wasted time driving around trying to find the correct route.
I wonder how many other devices do as much to improve married life?
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Does anyone else name their GPS? We named ours Gabby, and my parents named theirs Darla. It would be interesting to see how naming the device affects adoption rates and the overall user experience.
Mine is named Gladys – full name is Gladys P. Snodgrass (G.P.S).
Not that it completely eliminates nagging though – every time I decide to take a bit of a different route, Gladys says “recalculating” in a somewhat exasperated tone!
Mine already has names. Her American English-speaking character is named Jill, and her Dutch-speaking name is Clare. She is also sometimes a dude and speaks German, Russian, Czech, and pretty much dozens of languages. She’s way smarter than me.
My first GPS was Shirley, until someone broke into my car and stole her. Now Rosie gets me where I need to go.
A good, big duvet is the very first condition for a succesful marriage. Really indispensable. Without it even the most perfect couple wouldn’t be together for more than 3 months.
But think of the unintended consequences! Soon, comedians and comedy writers will not be able to plausibly use “men will never admit they are lost and ask for directions” as the basis for a joke anymore! Plus, they’re already losing “what’s the deal with airplane food” as more and more airlines remove it. Now they’ll have to come up with new jokes to reuse over and over!!
Our GPS is a lifesaver, too. And paired with Urban Spoon, a nice, free app for the iPhone, makes married life even better. When traveling in an unfamiliar city, we locate a top-rated restaurant with Urban Spoon, dial in the address, and drive directly to the restaurant excited and calm. Now I just need to figure out how to pair Urban Spoon with our Prius’ nav system!
-separate bathroom sinks
-sunscreen
-texting