From the MOM on "technology"...

Photo Source: here

Here's what technology means to me... all of us looking at screens since dinner. What? No one did the dinner dishes? Dang. Guess I will.
What have I been doing? Cleaning out my in-box from 300 plus messages... having to answer many, foldering some for later... deleting most. It's a new year! (What? "Foldering" isn't a word?)
What's Ken doing? "Working." A documentary on Google in on PBS right now (making us mulit-screeners) so it's information everywhere-- coming in, going out... I should say something poetic here like "...making my eyes bleed."
My hip hurts. My laptop and it's handy-dandy lap desk gets a good seat on the couch and I lug myself out of the chair (I know I look like my mother right now) and check on the boys... Logan says dad wants him to write a blog. "Yeah, me too."
What? Luke's not on his computer? Oh, on his cell talking to the girlfriend. He'll be off at 9:30.
Good. We're all going to bed. I fold some laundry.
I'm such a liar. I didn't go to bed. I'm writing this-- will this do, honey?
I love you. Look into my screen!

How the laptop has changed our life...

Photo Source:bobdegraaf

This last year, both my wife and I received laptops from our employers. I have a MacBook and my wife has a Dell Inspiron 6400. We can be found most evenings sitting in our living room with our laptops, the t.v. on low in the background while we catch up on our email, finish up writing assignments and generally extend our day jobs into our home life. I am right now typing this on my MacBook with a hulu window open streaming an episode of The Bionic Woman, another window updating me on those I follow on twitter, and bouncing between google talk with my son downstairs and my updated RSS feeds on google reader.

This kind of digital multi-tasking is new to me and my wife. In some ways it seems empowering and productive to be able to interact with all this internet content. It certainly is more comfortable to do it on the couch with a laptop vs. a desktop.

Is this a good thing? Has it made our lives easier? More thoughts about this from my family in future posts...