From Red Carpet to Red Handed

So I had a little browse through the news this morning. Because Jacob Zuma will officially open Parliament today as the country's 4th democratically elected president there is naturally a fair amount of pomp and ceremony. The opening line of one of the stories about Zuma said something about a red carpet being taped down since the early hours of this morning. It got me thinking about the little traditions and sometimes absurdities that still exist in the world today. With access to anyone, at anytime, with the massive overload of information and the fact that at any given time, you can go anywhere, people still get excited about a red carpet. Its just a carpet and its red. The only thing that actually makes it special is the fame, fortune and honour that associated with it. Its perhaps one of the oldest and last remaining route markers known to man. The first record of the use of a red carpet was in 458BC, so it goes to show that some things don't change...even in the technology age.

And speaking of which, on that same news source I saw another story that made me think about the absurdity of seating technology and tradition at the same table. Two men were arrested in Moscow after "staging an audacious robbery" in an upmarket suburb, near the presidential palace in fact. Why audacious? Well, that's risky business anyone will agree but what inspired confidence in the burglars was the fact that they had already studied satellite images of the area thoroughly. Google Earth has opened up a whole new world for criminals. Gone are the days of flash lights and soft sole shoes, now its satellite tracking and night vision goggles (true).

So there you have it! The little absurdities that result from the marriage of technology and technicalities on red carpets and in purple robes.