Technology - Love it or Hate it?

I haven't posted my Baby Talk - February edition yet because I haven't been able to upload all the cute photos and videos that document all the cute things Shaelyn did last month. Why? I would say the answer is mostly because I'm lazy. We have filled up the disk space on our hard drive with pictures and videos of Shaelyn (well, Michael's 1,000+ songs in iTunes is a sure memory hog). We need to get an external hard drive to store more songs/videos/pictures, but haven't yet done it because 1) we're lazy, and 2) it hasn't been justifiable in the budget. But the laziness factor outweighs the budget on this one. And yes, we've tried burning off the pictures/videos we already have onto CDs to make room for more, but our CD burner is not cooperating. So in the meantime, we've been taking our memory card over to our dear friend's house who burns copies off all it's contents onto CDs for us, but said friend is currently in Brazil right now...

Gosh I love technology. It helps us connect and makes the world a smaller place, but at the same time, I hate it!!! Only because it's smarter than me!!! Now I know how my mother felt when everyone got email. I would try to email her in college, but she was so freaked out by the new technology, she would never check it! (She's doing much better now, by the way.)

Technology advances I'm struggling to keep up with:

* "texting" - I feel like that mom on all those cell phone commercials (you know, the one with the daughter and grandma who are always texting and speaking in "text", like "btw" for "by the way"). I'm not a good texter, don't know all the little anagrams, and don't understand why you can't just call someone or send them an email! My kids already think I'm lame, and they're not even born yet...

* video editing - something I really want to know how to do, but just can't get my mind around real well. I think it would also help to have some good software.

* online bargain shopping - there are those of you out there who are awesome at online bargain shopping, be it for air travel, vacations, baby toys, clothes, gadgets, whatever. I think I have been on Craig's List once in my life. Why? Maybe subconsciously I enjoy paying full price for things. No, that can't be it. I think it's that online bargain shopping is, to me, the equivalent of shopping at Ross. If you have a lot of time and a good eye, you can walk out of there with great deals. But usually I don't have the time, eye, or patience.

* You Tube - I have friends who will constantly say things to me like "did you see that hilarious _____ on You Tube?" or email me clips. Once these things are pointed out to me, I usually enjoy them, but I don't have the time, or more importantly the desire, to spend hours on end looking at all the junk that's on You Tube to find the random gems. I think it's because I'm not in college anymore, or sitting at work in an office bored out of my mind with nothing better to do than surf the net for videos of cats doing ridiculous things. When I was in college, I spent most of my online time looking at Brach's email responses on HomeStar Runner.

* My Space/FaceBook, etc. - Now that I'm a blogger, I'm coming around to understanding the draw of these sites. I guess it's a teenagers version of blogging. I really don't know. My unborn children are also groaning over this one, especially when I admit that I haven't even been on either of these sites ever in my life.

* iPod/Podcasts/iTunes - Gosh, I really am lame. Andrew, I'm one-uping you on being old and lame, I think! I've never listened to a Podcast (although now that my friend Andrea has pointed out that there are LOST Podcasts, I might become a believer), and I don't understand the thrill Michael gets for "playing iPod" for hours on end. He will find obscure bands on iTunes, go to their web sites (usually on My Space!!!) and read about all their "music recommendations", and the cycle continues. But he also doesn't understand my blog obsession...

* cell phones that are MP3 players, cameras, mini PCs, and can open your garage door - Being a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom for those of you not cool enough to know what that is, HA!), I am using my cell phone less and less. There are days I don't even turn it on. So I can't understand the desire to have a phone that does a million things. I would never use it.

I'm sure there's more to add to the list, but that's all I can think of right now. I think a lot of my disassociation with all things pop culture does have a lot to do with me being a SAHM, but I'm ok with that. My attention is being drawn in a different direction. And I promise Shaelyn and all her unborn siblings that I won't be a downer on all the cool gadgets that will be along when they are old enough to want/appreciate them. I just can't promise that I'll know how to use them.