Being Thankful

I know that it has been 2 weeks since Thanksgiving, but I thought it was time to talk about the things for which I am personally thankful, technologically speaking.

I am thankful for online music services. Who would have thought that at the touch of a button I could be listening to “Afternoon Delight” by Starland Vocal Band? I have slept many a restful night in the comfort that I would live the rest of my life and probably never hear that song again, but because of Spotify™ I can hear this and all of my favorite hits from the 70’s. Brings me right back to my unreasonably long hair and Qiana shirts. (Google THAT). By the way, Tuesday is always 70’s day at The Computer Cafe here in Winchester so stop by.

I am thankful for Google™.  Arguments are a thing of the past due to the ability to verify facts at a moment’s notice. It has been confirmed, right at the dinner table, that your eyes will not in fact “pop out” if you leave them open while sneezing. Helena is the capital of Montana and a penny dropped from the top of the Empire State building will not drill a hole 4 feet into the concrete.

I am thankful for my Smartphone, not for any coolness factor or its ability to find me the best Thai food within walking distance. I am thankful for being able to carry around an assortment of pictures of my kids that would never have fit into even the overstuffed wallet of George Costanza. My colleague stopped by yesterday and showed me a movie of his first child dancing for the first time. I need to rephrase this so you can fully absorb it. Go back in time and tell your 1985 self. He carries a MOVIE of his daughter in his pocket!

I am thankful for the online availability of TV shows and movies. Without the almost unlimited selection of entertainment sources I would not be able to spend my evenings camped out, buried deep in my sofa in a passive stimulus coma. If it were not for Hulu™ and Netflix™ I would have to engage in conversation with my family or even fix things around the house. I would not have been able to expose my children to the timeless treasure of “The Partridge Family”.

I am thankful for Geocaching. I can’t tell you what that is because it is a secret. There are millions of “caches” hidden all over the world. You walk past them every day and don’t even know it. I shouldn’t have even told you this much because it is secret. The fun part is you use technology in the form of a GPS device to find the hidden spots and then use clues to find the Cache itself. When you find it, you can usually sign a log sheet and sometimes even trade little prizes left behind by other players. It’s a great way to spend time outdoors and exercising while using Tech. The best part is that it is all secret, except the parts I gave away…which is actually most of it…but don’t tell anyone. Remember, secret. Especially the website (www.geocaching.com) which I never should have told you.

I am ever so thankful for Facebook™. Without Facebook, I would never know who was going to the dentist or had dented their car in the mall parking lot. I would never get to see 38 pictures of someone’s Chihuahua puppy, which all kind of looked the same. I would never have been offered a Pig by someone playing a game while they were obviously at work.

I also never would have had to opportunity to reconnect with a friend from over 30 years ago with whom I have found to have so much more in common than I would have thought, and to have been able to meet up for drinks at The Black Horse Tavern at almost the spur of the moment. I would never have known about many of the ordinary triumphs and tribulations of my geographically distant family members. I never would have known about friends’ accomplishments as musicians, politicians, adoptive parents, actors, photographers, teachers and even world renowned Bloggers. ;-)

I joke about reading about people’s dentist visits, but those are the kind of things that you talk about with your friends. The online world is our backyard fence over which we have the late afternoon talk with Wilson. It lets us stay in touch about all of the things that matter, the large and the small, the momentous and the mundane. So, this holiday season get yourself online and reconnect with someone from your past that you always liked but never got close with. Trust me it is worth the effort. And really, it’s as easy as pushing a button. Seriously, dude, that easy.

Happy Holidays.