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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW MADGE arrests six in raid on Medford home ... New Medford charter school on track to meet fundraising goals ... Police: Shoe thief arrested wearing stolen shoes ... MADGE arrests six in raid on Medford home ... New Medford charter school on track to meet fundraising goals ... Police: Shoe thief arrested wearing stolen shoes ... Wry & Ginger: New app could save us from ourselves Comment By Sid McKeen More Content Now MailTribune.com By Sid McKeen More Content Now Posted Mar. 24, 2015 at 8:33 AM By Sid McKeen More Content Now Posted Mar. 24, 2015 at 8:33 AM » Social News My father-in-law, Larry, was a good man overall, but he had a couple of bad habits, one of which often led to the other. He enjoyed a wee drop now and again, and after a drink or three, he liked nothing better than sitting down late at night and writing scurrilous letters to people he felt had wronged him in some way. Providently, not all of these poisonous missives reached their targets in the cold light of next day’s sobriety. But some did, and more than one friendship was torpedoed as a result. Larry has been gone for 40 years now. He never heard of the Internet, email, texting or sexting, but I thought of him immediately when I learned of a new app that might have saved some of those old relationships of his. It’s called On Second Thought. Yes, there IS an app for that. Developed by Maci Peterson, a 28-year-old entrepreneur, it hit the market a few months ago, providing users of Android devices the protection of canceling text messages before their intended recipients even get to see them. A one-minute grace period is built in, and for the Larrys of the world, you can even embargo certain messages until next day when things may look different. One would like to think high-tech marvels like that might help put an end to people making fools of themselves. To believe that would fly in the face of human experience. History teaches us that ever since our earliest ancestors stopped scrawling on the walls of their caves, we’ve been making total asses of ourselves in print, one way or another, in high places and low. How many well-placed politicians have been forced to give up office, fame and power because of their need to publicize pictures of their private nether regions to unsuspecting recipients? All of us could use some kind of third-party revision program, even for innocent text messages that we often fail to reread in our haste to communicate. Only a few weeks ago, I mentioned in this column my own embarrassment at things I had emailed without double-checking that fell victim to the laptop’s autocorrect feature. One such was a reference to a visit with a medical specialist that came out “socialist.” When you think about it, technology is making more decisions for us every day. Our cars already do everything but take in our wash. They give us directions, show us where we are, keep track of our favorite songs, tell us when to stop backing up and when to add air to our tires, and in the very near future will be expected to drive places all by themselves. You and I and the guy leaning on the lamppost are all about to become Miss Daisy. And that’s clearly appropriate since the cars are often put together by robots in the first place. As they say, it takes one to know one. I wish good luck to the makers of On Second Thought. I just hope they haven’t started something that could wreak havoc when we vote. Given the trend to allow us to change our minds quickly, I can see only trouble ahead if they decide to give us second thoughts about the candidates on Election Day. A lot could happen in that one-minute grace period, not all of it good. And I can only imagine what would come out of an embargo until next day. Third thoughts, anybody? Sid McKeen can be reached at [email protected]. By Sid McKeen More Content Now MailTribune.com By Sid McKeen More Content Now Posted Mar. 24, 2015 at 8:33 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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