Wordless Wednesday: I guess my neighbor is protesting being P.C.!

Technology: A blessing or a curse?

*Photo from the Pop! Tech blog*

I've been thinking a lot lately. It started out with a conversation Jason and I had. We were walking and discussing what life will be like for our children one day. He reminisced about how growing up on a farm taught him the value of hard work and I talked about how my curiosity drove my mom berserk, but taught me a lot. I said "What am I going to say to our kids when they ask a question? To go get on the computer and Google it?"

Looking back, I appreciate my mom telling me to "go look up" the strange questions I would ask her. I'd go over to the bookcase, skim the sleeves until I found the letter of the subject I was curious about and read away. Not a glamorous task, but it helped me to learn. Now, the Internet is there for our children like that shelf filled with a dictionary and a set of Britannica's once was for me.

I always say how strange it is that my generation is the last one to not be completely reliant on technology. My family didn't have a computer until I was in the 5th grade. And even then, nobody was that interested in them until I entered high school and chat rooms got popular. Blackberrys were unheard of. Cell phones, for that matter, were unheard of. Video games, well Atari, was for only the cool kids. MTV and VH1 were barely in existence. The brand iPod could've been the dog's name in The Jetsons. Plasma screen, LCD, DVD, laptop, blogs and YouTube didn't mean jack.

After much reflection, I still can't decide if technology has been more of a blessing or a curse in my life. I've weighed some pros (roses) versus the cons (thorns) and am still at a loss. Here's a piece of my logic:

ON CONNECTING & LEARNING
Rose: Long lost family, friends and professional colleagues are able to reconnect easily thanks to Geni, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social web tools.
Thorn: Children can easily connect with bad, bad, dirty people.
Rose: I get to learn new information everyday and easily see updates and photos of friends', their husbands, their children and their adventures in general on social networking sites.
Thorn: There's so much great and interesting content online that it makes for an annoying distraction at times (really, is it a need to check Facebook again?)

ON HEALTH
Rose: Everyone is their own doctor thanks to WebMD.
Thorn: I've been known to diagnose my own health issues...and have scared myself to death (thankfully most of my diagnoses were wrong).
Rose: We are able to delay death by diagnosing and treating major health issues by using advanced medical technology. Apple even has an iPhone app to check blood pressure for goodness sake.
Thorn: Knowing about these major issues can cause major stress in our lives. In fact, sometimes I wish we could go back to the caveman days when ignorance was bliss.

ON WORK
Rose: Being out of the office is possible during the day thanks to cell phones, smart phones, Wi-Fi and remote email access.
Thorn: Friday used to be the end of the work week. Now it doesn't ever really end.
Rose: Email makes things more efficient in the office.
Thorn: Email makes it easy to not have to pick up the phone to talk with colleagues across the office. I could use the human interaction sometimes....and exercise for that matter.

Would I change progression? Absolutely not. I couldn't live without most of it. But much like my parents like to tell me about how they walked to school up hill both ways, I'll be damned if I don't rant to my kids about the good 'ol days of BG: before Google.

Rant: Don't use the handicap button if you don't need it!

I have a major pet peeve: when people who are not physically handicap use the handicap button on doors when they do not need it.

On Friday, a gal in stilettos, paired with a designer handbag and fancy sunglasses pushed the handicap button into the RenCen for absolutely no reason. She was perfectly able to open the door -- she was just carrying a small purse. But she used it. For no reason. She can't even use the germaphobe excuse because she touched the button to make the door open. Was it just laziness on her part? Most likely, but that's just another rant entirely. In my mind, there's no excuse. That button was not created for her to use at her helpless disposal.

I understand those who have their arms full utilizing the door opener. It's just truly bothersome to me when people use these doors for no reason. I feel blessed to not have to use that button. I have legs. I have arms and hands. I can open the door and perhaps even be courteous enough to hold the door for whomever is walking behind me.

Those doors use power. Power can go out. If everyone and their brother uses those doors and they breakdown and no longer have power, what happens when someone comes along in a wheelchair and really needs it and it doesn't work?

To understand my logic, I'll tell you a story. I had a friend in high school that I worked with that had cerebral palsy. She was extremely sweet and had mentioned to me once that she didn't hang out with many people outside of work and school because her wheelchair made everything difficult. So, my girlfriend and I decided to take her to the movies. We had a great time, but it the entire process wasn't easy. We had to pick her up from her house, lift her in and out of the car, lug the wheelchair around and sit in the front of the movie screen (not our first choice for a spot to sit) where there was actually room for a wheelchair. Had we not been there to open doors for her, it would have made for a horrible process for her I imagine.

I'm not asking for you to agree with my thoughts. I just want to say that people with disabilities have a hard enough time dealing with getting places. Think next time you're faced with an automatic button. Do you really need it? If not, please think twice and maybe even have a thought of thanks for being blessed enough to not have to use it.

A Sign of the Times: Jesus Still Loves You

So the word on the street is that Jesus Still Loves Me. At least the sign on I-75 tells me so.

I noticed the sign a few days ago. It's attached to a chain link fence connected to an overpass heading north from Detroit.

I was stuck in traffic and chuckled when I saw the sign above me. I instantly imagined some crazy old man with wiry gray hair, dressed in a flannel pulling the sign out of a shopping cart and hanging it proudly on the fence.

I thought nothing of it afterward.

Today was a different story. It was a great day...but something just felt different. I was again stuck under it and got to thinking.

Maybe this was therapy for someone out there -- a way to tell the world, or at least hundreds of Detroit-area travelers, that they are not alone.

Maybe the person that hung the sign had a bad day, got laid off, found out a family member had cancer, went home to a deceased pet. Maybe they wanted to end their life, but realized that even though awful things were surrounding them, somewhere, someone was feeling the same way.

Thinking that way changed my perspective on the sign.

Everyone across the U.S.A. knows Michigan is struggling...even my grandma in Nebraska who doesn't even have cable worries about us.

But instead of paying attention to all of the doom and gloom portrayed in the media, how about we all collectively think positive for once? To all the amazing/talented/personable/wonderful Michiganders out there - this message is for you: You're not alone.

Whomever this sign-putter-upper is: THANKS. I only wish there were other folks out there sending us little reminders like this to let us know that we're not alone. We may be struggling, but we're in this together, Michigan. It's all of us, and Jesus too.

Six Random Things

I feel honored the fabulous Supergirll tagged me in a meme and now it's my turn to talk about 6 unspectacular things about me, so here goes nothing:

1. I loathe drama-filled TV sitcoms, but I love all Bravo reality shows (with the exception of Real Housewives...).
2. My maiden name, Panaretos means of all virtues in Greek...or so I'm told!
3. My hubby would say the craziest thing about me is that I could have died twice...As a baby, I went down the basement stairs in my walker and I almost drown when I was two (my dad rescued me). I am still very clumsy...yet have never broke a bone.
4. I really, really, really love Taco Bell (most of you know this). And if Yum! Brands weren't based in California, I would LOVE to do PR for them...even though they probably induce millions of heart attacks each year.
5. I took ballet for 13 years, 3 of which was on point. Man, I give those real ballerinas credit. Bleeding toes were awful.
6. I provide TMI to almost everyone I encounter on a daily basis. I can't help it -- I'm very open!

Wasn't that enthralling? Now I tag Estrella10, Radiant Thoughts and randommsugirl!