Pokemon!

I never heard of this until yesterday and now I keep seeing it pop up over and over again on social media. 

I'm old school I guess. I took my kids to the creek yesterday but left my phone in the van. We tried to catch frogs and identify animal tracks. My kids had a great time. We would have missed it all if we were staring at a phone. 

But I get it. For people who would not typically get out into nature I guess it is a good thing. 

I have mixed feelings about it. It's technology. Just like any other form of technology it can be good or bad. Tech contributed to more and more people being couch potatoes and staring at their screens, but this is a use of it that gets people outside, albeit looking at a screen  rather than actually looking at the world. My buddy from high shcool, a "grown man" (and I'm totally using quotes for that phrase), is an overweight video game nut, and in the last 2 days he's racked up 14 miles running around looking for pokemon. I wonder if in the coming months we'll see a sharp drop in childhood obesity. 
PS there's a great book that covers this topic called "Hamlet's Blackberry". It doesn't completely bash tech, just talks about how and why there are good and bad sides to having screens in our pockets all the time, and what it does to our lives.

I heard that UPS has warned it's drivers to watch for people staring at phone screens because those people are not watching for traffic.

I guess if it gets them off the couch that is something...

I'm not sure a few months will move the needle on childhood obesity, but I see what you are saying - maybe this will become a trend. I like the idea of integrating technology to get kids moving and outdoors (as long as they aren't dumb about it and pay attention to their surroundings of course).

My sister and her family just moved across the country and she said yesterday this game will be a great way to explore their new city this summer, getting them to places they haven't seen yet while the kids have a little fun at the same time. I think that's a neat way to look at it.

Also, I will leave this here for the conspiracy theorists
http://blackbag.gawker.com/pokemon-go-is-a-government-surveillance-psyop-conspirac-1783461240 

I've been playing it some since Friday.  I even went on a neighborhood ride with one of my brothers for the purpose of hunting Pokemon.  I could see other people in the neighborhood walking around doing the same thing.  It's made my area at least way more active.  

Kudos to your girlfriend's cousin, btw.  I think the concept of the game is brilliant.

Good on you for that. I worry about it on the bike path, like how people with headphones in always seem to take up the whole path and not hear you calling out to them. 

I  think it's adorable that many kids were out there running around with their parents. Seems like a fun family bonding experience.

So the way I do it is I have have the app running and put the phone in my jersey pocket.  Occasionally I'll stop and look at the map to see what's around.  The phone will vibrate if a Pokemon is nearby.  When that happens, I stop, catch the pokemon, put the phone back in the jersey pocket and move on.

Sounds like geocaching, only easier

I just got back from vacation and was washing the SUV this morning.  A teenager was going back and forth on his bike with his phone to his face.  Well I was spraying off the top and at the last sec saw him coming yet again.  I said what the heck lets see what happens if I keep spraying the top with the overspray out over the sidewalk.  Sure enough the kid rode right into it clueless and it startled him.  I told him he should be paying attention to where he's riding and put on a helmet!

FWIW, my kids (16 & 15) think this is a moron game!

Read this article today also, people getting robbed at gunpoint while playing the game. Yikes

http://www.abc2news.com/news/local-news/3-umd-students-robbed-at-gunpoint-while-playing-pokemon-go

So I thought this app was a good thing at first.  But now the paved bike trails in my area are an obstacle course of pedestrians wandering aimlessly, noses buried in their phones.  So dangerous.