Link, links links…

Isn’t this bed kind of neat & girly without being obvious at first? 🙂

Been sitting on these links, and thought I’d share:

One item of junk food could be your 3-days worth of sugar intake

Not surprising, but interesting nonetheless.

Food Co-Ops

What a neat concept! I only wish we had like-minded friends who lived nearby (hah! hard to do when we keep moving), to be able to do food swaps with.

Discrimination against the Deaf

They are suffering silently. I feel awful for them, and this article makes me so much more sensitive to someone who is identifiably deaf.

All about technology

Addicted to technology

Check.

Your Brain on Computers

Very interesting. I can’t multi-task, by the way. I can make notes to myself to do other things while I’m working on a task, but I absolutely cannot do two things at once. I cannot even listen to music while I work.

The Ugly Toll Impatience

I don’t necessarily find myself more impatient. I’m actually quite calm in the car, unless I’m REALLY late. Even in traffic, you can’t do anything about being stuck in it, so why fret?

I do find myself getting impatient when something is promised, but not delivered. Just don’t promise at all.

A good example would be online customer service. I’ve never expected it, but if you tell me you’re offering it, I am going to darn well expect that you deliver it, and not email me back with a: “Call this number for more assistance” message when I didn’t even want to pick up the phone in the first place.

Hmmmm…..

These three links really made me re-assess how much technology has impacted my life since the 6th grade, when I started webdesigning and discovering what the internet was all about.

I am by no means exempt from the examples in the articles, but I do use a lot of technology in my life.

Just traveling for a week for work, I have:

– GPS (much needed in a city I don’t live in)
– 4 USB keys (2 are just because I forgot to take them out of the bag)
– Cellphone (albeit not a smart phone, that would make me even MORE addicted I think)
– 2 laptops (one for work, one for personal stuff)
– 2 mice (cannot work without one, cramps my hand)
– 1 hard drive (holds videos because my laptop only has so much space)
– iPod (for listening to music in the car)

And that isn’t ALL that I own in gadgets!

That being said, I regularly forget my cellphone (and forget to charge it), I can switch off my laptops at any time (no “pull” to go back to them), and BF and I connect when we go out for walks. He hates the idea of a smartphone, while I am open to one, but when we’re together, we’re not distracted by other things.

We focus on each other, we take walks with just some money in our pocket, our house keys & sunglasses.

I would hate to be ignored for a device.

If it’s an important, million dollar, life or death call then by all means, take it. If not, please respect the fact that I’m trying to connect to you in person.

Most telling of all, when we are on vacation, I bring a netbook just to do quick checks on my emails once a day, but I am not addicted to it, at the expense of my vacation.

I don’t get the reason & need for being connected all the time. I hate texting and instant messaging.

Tweeting is all right, because I can reply to tweets any time I choose to, rather than feeling chained to my desk, and forced to converse with someone via instant messaging in real-time.

I guess I’m just an oddball.

About the Author

Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver. I cleared $60,000 in 18 months earning $65,000 gross/year. Now I am self-employed, and you can read more about my story here, or visit my other blog: The Everyday Minimalist.