Simon's Blog - September 19, 2006

September 19, 2006

I'm really glad my parents are total dolts when it comes to using any kind of technology. My mom has barely figured out how to check the messages on her cell phone and my dad's blood pressure goes crazy if he has to print something off the computer. Why is that good? Well, for one, it means I can easily delete messages on my mom's cell phone from my teachers who want her to "come in for a chat about Simon's classroom conduct" (I managed to stop at least three of those chats from taking place before my teacher called my mom at work.) It also means there's no worry my 'rents are going to try and keep track of me using high-tech spy gear like my friend Ben's parents do.

Ben's parents got him a cell phone before school started so he could phone them if there was any sort of emergency or just to let them know where he is if he goes somewhere after school. A free new cell phone seemed cool at first - until we found out this phone actually doubles as a "KidTracker".

We made this nasty discovery last week when Ben decided to head to the skatepark with me after school instead of heading to his grandma's house to help her with some chores. He told his mom he couldn't make it because he had to stay after school to get extra help with math. Ben's a moron when it comes to math so this was a pretty good excuse. This is when we discovered Ben's new phone is really the KidTracker2007. It turns out Ben's phone has a GPS unit in it, which can be tracked using a program on his parents' computer. So, his mom tracked Ben to his cell phone on the computer and found out Ben was popping ollies at the skate park instead of agonizing over algebra at school.

Isn't that insane? How are we supposed to do anything fun if parents know where we are all the time? I love high-tech spy gadgets - but not when they're used to keep track of me or my friends! As soon as Ben's grounding ends, we'll be working on a plan to counter this parental espionage.

Anyway, I gotta go check my mom's phone messages - just in case Mrs. Mattheson thinks she needs to have a chat with my mom. What do you think of parents who track their kids through phones? Do your parents do this?

Later,
Simon

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