Life without Technology

I am absolutely addicted to Technology. Which, I guess, by definition - makes me a geek. I love to automate things. It's what I do all day at work. There are even cases around the house when I've applied automation when it probably really doesn't need to be automated. I tend to get carried away. Case in point - I installed RF cameras all around the house and even had the one above the front door on a motion sensor, which kicked on a VCR to record the movement. I even had it publish stills from the video on a 15 second interval to my webserver. The purpose? So I could see when the UPS man dropped off a package I was expecting from work. Really.

When I'm driving, my PDA tells me where to go in a pleasent, helpful voice. My MP3 player talks to me, telling me which song is playing and speaks the various navigation menus. And my handheld GPSr has become an integral part of life, providing direction and sport in the way of Geocaching. My cell phone doubles as a cellular modem, so I can connect to the internet even while I'm in transit. I am absorbed by a world of instanteous gratification when it comes to information. I can't imagine life without these things.

It didn't used to be this way. In fact - I was almost a minimalist for a while - my life was consumed with outdoor activities, and I worried about taking with me only those things I absolutely had to have. I even drilled holes in a toothbrush once to cut down on weight. If I were to go on a long term hike tomorrow - what would I really need? Probably, I could just get by with my pack, clothes, tent, food and my GPSr. Oh - and my cell phone. Oh what the hell - my PDA isn't that heavy. On those tall peaks - I'd probably get decent reception, and I could connect to the internet and get weather reports, check email and such......

See what I mean?