Rise of the Machine

After talking to Rob, I realize that I should tell you guys a little more about the Boston Scientific machine Daddy had installed.

It's a combo defibrillator and pacemaker. The coolest thing is that in the middle of the night a few months from now, there will be a phone call made from a control unit in my parents' house to Dr. Frazier's office. The two machines will talk about my dad's heart rate, any shocks he may have received, and eventually, when the scales and the blood pressure machine show up, these will conference call with dad's machine and the phone thing and will let Dr. Frazier keep up with Dad's weight and blood pressure as well.

Then there's the machines in the hospital that they use to talk to the thing in Daddy's chest. Looks like a laptop. Communicates wirelessly. Can be stopped with a magnet. But funny thing - when the tech guy took the magnet off of Dad's chest, he threw it right on top of the cart with the two computers - and by the way, one had a touch screen - too cool. So they can talk to Dad's heart and can withstand a powerful magnet.

But that's it for the machines - except it makes you wonder - what kind of world will it be in a few years where machines can control your heart, call the doctor, and keep track of your weight. What will they be in charge of next?