Ever since I can remember, I’ve been spending my money on gadgetry of varying utility and longevity. When I was younger, it was model rockets, weird console controllers and any number of add-ons to make seeing the Gameboy’s screen at night possible. As I grew older, it became computers, MP3 CD players, RF adapters and, before I learned the dangers of credit, laptops and iPods. It’s an addiction as strong as my dependence on books and breathable air, and it’s one of the few I feel are entirely worth the investment. And unlike some of my other, less socially acceptable addictions, I even know the root of my compulsion.
Richard Dean Anderson.
That’s right: MacGyver has cost me, to my estimation, over $50,000, and I don’t even have the DVDs. From the day that Phoenix Foundation crusader used his Swiss Army Knife to save the world from terrorists, oil barons, corporate criminals and inner city drug trafficking, I’ve been hooked on the sheer possibility gadgets have. If Mac can disarm a man taking hostages inside a grocery store with a hot water bottle, cayenne pepper from the spice aisle and the pokey bladey thing on his Swiss Camper, surely I can jimmy open my car door when I’ve locked my keys inside. Or save the girl from Murdock.
Gadgets are what make my imagination go ’round, and this issue, “Gadgets,” has it running wild. Hugo Torres chronicles how smartphones have shaped society, despite their short time on the planet. Jon Sanderson pines for the holodeck of Star Trek fame, and we’re closer to realizing than you’d think. Spanner tells the story of a man with an office wired through his Rambo jacket. Pat Miller lives the life nomadic, DS Lite in hand. And our own Russ Pitts takes treasure hunting to the 21st century, bruised knee and all.
To get you in the mood, give this a watch. The issue reads even better with the song stuck in your head.
P.S. Be sure to check out 3scapism, a community-created venture to highlight exceptional content on The Escapist Forum.
