DRONING ON AND ON

A drone just flew over my house, and I’m not talking about a male bee here!

Although Tucson is home to a very big military base, I can attest to the fact that the only enemy in our neighborhood is a nasty poodle, who is an equal opportunity pooper, and I assume that since the drone is not for military use, it won’t zap him.

I suppose that a frustrated, civilian, wannabe pilot---a man with a boy toy---is flying this little unmanned aircraft. And, he probably won’t read the instruction manual until his drone lands in my tree.

It seems to me, that unless there is a compelling reason, operators of drones should stay out of the crowded skies as well as my neighborhood.  I like my privacy, and don’t want one of these whirlybirds hovering near any of my windows.

Martha Stewart received a drone for her birthday, and wrote an article for TIME MAGAZINE about the drone monitoring her flowerbed. I would have been more interested had she written an article about drones delivering hacksaws to prison.

Right now, you can buy a little drone for around $200.00, or you can get a fancy one for around $1000.00, and there are about 5,600 drones registered for commercial purposes. A delivery drone can bring merchandise (such as a sweater) to your doorstep, without you having to sign for it. And thieves, who follow that drone, can pick up that merchandise, so you won’t have to return it if it doesn’t fit.

I can see one practical use for a drone. Once you learn to fly the contraption, you could deliver your misbehaving kid to grandma post haste. Mission accomplished!

According to the FAA, to this date, 450,000 hobbyists have registered at least one drone. So where do we draw the line between Google, Apple and Microsoft innovation, and issues of privacy and safety? Recently, firefighters had to discontinue helicopter flights over a fire, because of an inquisitive drone in the area. There is no communication between helicopters, planes and drones. I assume the drone was equipped with a camera. The operator must have been named Nero---fiddling around taking pictures of the blaze.

If people want to use drones to spy on their neighbors, they really need to invent quieter ones, because if a person is sunbathing naked in her back yard, she might become suspicious when hearing a leaf blower flying overhead.

Admittedly, drones do have some good purposes when operated by experienced people. They can deliver disaster relief, inspect downed power lines, and deliver needed supplies to remote areas, but I doubt that drones, used as toys, will serve any purpose other than annoyance.

Right now, a panel of privacy experts has submitted guidelines that people are supposed to voluntarily follow such as: “Get permission before flying over someone’s property.”  That makes about as much sense as---- Avoid using personal information you gathered, for marketing purposes or blackmail. Who needs to chase an ambulance when you can catch a drone hanging from a tree?

Esther Blumenfeld (“Good judgment comes from experience, and experience---Well, that comes from poor judgment.”) A.A. Milne