Electronic problems…
I have a cell phone — well, in this day and age nearly everyone does but mine is a basic model — no camera, no Internet access, just your stripped down model. What it does seem to have is a very accurate Important Event Detector (IED). For those of you who haven’t realized that this piece of technology is built-in to every piece of equipment you own — well, you’ve been lucky. An IED is what makes the cell phone, laptop, PDA, calculator, whatever misbehave just when you need it most. So, if you charged your cell phone just last night, took it off the charger this morning and then need to make an emergency phone call because you’re stuck in traffic — well the IED snaps into action and your cell phone will be dead and needing a charge. Have an important paper due at work and figure you’ll print it out when you get there — IED strikes again — the laptop will be dead or the wireless network on the fritz, or the file will suddenly corrupt and you’re dead in the water. It has taken me years of tracking these small incidents but I’ve finally figured out that the IED exists.
I use to get really annoyed at authors of books that have their protagonist’s cell phones, tasers, etc., fail just when they needed them the most. I figured this was just a clumsy plot device. But now, I can see that these authors knew something I either didn’t know, or simply didn’t want to admit. Yes, it’s the IED that gets us, and all these amateur detectives, into so much trouble.
Now if we could only find out who makes and it and what it’s true purpose is….