I'm Such an Addict

Last Saturday, May 29th, my hard drive crashed. I was really annoyed. I'd had my computer about six weeks, just long enough to get everything set up just the way I wanted it. Then, pretty much out of the blue, the machine froze, and when I restarted it, it went into ScanDisk and found numerous bad sectors on my C drive. Rats. Okay, so I bought the machine used, and I knew that something like this could happen. That didn't make it any less irritating, though.

I ended up buying a new hard drive (with twenty times the capacity, incidentally) and, with the help of a guy at work, got it formatted and set up with an operating system. I got the drive back home to my machine, and with several hours of downloads and phone calls to various tech support lines, brought my Frankenstein computer back to life.

Before this I guess I never realized how much I use my computer. I bought my first computer in 1996, and this past week has really been the first time since then that I've not had a working computer in the house. What a pain in the neck! The city and university libraries were closed for Memorial Day, as was my employer. I've been able to check my e-mail sporadically at school and at work, and for that I was grateful. But I also use the computer for writing and some other creative outlets that I haven't had access to for the last six days. Now that I've got it back (except for the printer, which is still having driver issues), I have come to realize how much I really depend on it.

Hello, my name is Michael M., and I'm an addict.

I read an article in Popular Science last month. They paid a writer to live the first 10 days of 2004 using only technology that was commonly available 50 years ago. Hence, no computer or word processor, no cell phone, no PDA, no Caller ID, no Internet (gasp!), no automatic transmission or fuel injection, no color TV or VCR. And no Starbucks, only diner-style black coffee. (He said that was the worst part.) It was quite entertaining and thought provoking.

This all makes me grateful for the advantages I enjoy. The computer, television, DVD player, and all the other stuff is cool, but for me, the worst part of 'partying like it's 1954' would be the lack of public transportation. Without light rail to take me to work and school, I'd be in a world of trouble.

So let us all take a moment now to think about those wonders of science and technology that we take for granted day by day. We've all seen the bumper sticker that says, "If you can read this, thank a teacher." So I say, "If you can read this, give thanks that you live in the 21st century."

Enjoy your beverage of choice.