T hat's what my daughter, Ruchi, said to me last night
just a couple of hours before I wrote this down. She was bragging about
how she had hacked into our family computer.
To the right you see the two of us at the diner Sunday morning. She is
holding up a milkshake she is proud to be drinking for breakfast - I
know, I spoil her! - probably the cause for what I am about to tell you!
Her regular bedtime is 8:30pm so I programmed the family computer to
turn off at 8:00. That way I know she has at least half an hour
of downtime before she has to trundle off to sleep.
Last night when I came in from the grocery store she greeted me
excitedly at the front door. "I am admin!" she said as I came in with
my arms full of groceries.
I didn't quite understand what was going on, but I knew those words.
The meaning had not quite registered. "What?" I asked as I headed
for the kitchen.
"That's your password, dad! I figured it out! You know how the computer
shuts off before I go to bed? And it so annoying - tonight I was in the
middle of Winx
(her favorite show) when it shut off - and anyway I decided to go into
that other account - you know, the one that has a picture of you and
mom - but there was this password, so I tried anyway and the computer
gave me a hint and I figured it out! Now I can go in and watch my
show anytime I want! You might as well give
up, dad! I will always be ahead of you!"
All this from a little girl who 2 years ago couldn't speak English. Now
she's hacking into my computer!
She's right, you know. I might as well give up. The next generation is
on our heels and they are better at all this stuff than we are. I
didn't even get my hands on a computer until I was 18. She's already
figured out how to break into mine.
And there is such joy in ther spirit. She winked at me when after she
gave me the good news, then she said, "Toodles!" and was off to bed.
Healthy discontent
is the prelude to progress.
- Mahatma Gandhi
|
