The World of Tomorrow

This makes me laugh and laugh and laugh:



It's from season two, episode four of "Look Around You," a bizarre British spoof of '80s educational programs. While most of the show requires complete viewing to enjoy, this clip stands alone. I can't describe how much I love it.

If you want more, here's the clip that got me hooked: a look at synthesizers with "Synthesizer Patel." My God.

Career Counselor

After working a variety of jobs and majoring in a degree that I belatedly decided I didn't like, I feel I've finally found the perfect career: technical writer. It has just the right levels of independence, innovation, creativity, and variety.

But that doesn't mean I'm not open to other possibilities! While taking a break from animation (!) and with a cat permanently embedded on my lap, I decided to try..."Career Counselor" by Melvyn Lebowitz.


How can you not trust your future to a 1982 program written in BASIC for an 8-bit computer? Regarding the animated title screen, you'll note that the little pink woman in the dress goes to work in an office building after leaving school, while the naked blue man (presumably cold) works in a factory. He's also waving "Goodbye forever, until my job goes overseas!"

Anyway, which jobs did "Career Counselor" pick for me?

• EDITOR
• HISTORIAN
• HORTICULTURIST
• POLITICAL SCIENTIST
• PROSE WRITER
• SOIL CONSERVATIONIST
• TECHNICAL WRITER

Besides its insistence that I spend more of my time with plants, the suggestions are surprisingly good, though apparently I'm overpaid because the TECHNICAL WRITER's earning level is "24,000-29,999." This is notably higher than the earning level of either the PROSE WRITER or the SOIL CONSERVATIONIST, though the former's employment outlook is strangely "Good-Excellent." I guess things were different in 1982.

Maybe, as a hobby, I will start conserving soil.