All praise to the Google!

http://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2009/10/21

My desktop computer is in the shop, so I'm writing this post on my netbook computer with the teeny-tiny 10-inch screen.  At least I was able to plug my desktop's keyboard and mouse into the netbook, so it's not as alien a setup as it might be otherwise.  But still, I'm getting a crick in my neck from the unaccustomed screen position. And I can't watch videos on this underpowered machine.  Not that I watch a lot of videos anyway, but it's the idea that I can't that's bothering me.

Why am I whining about all of this?  (Kudos to you if you've stuck around thus far.  Your whining threshold must be pretty high!)  It's because this inconvenience has reminded me again of how much teh intarwebz have invaded my life.

I have a desktop computer at work; at home, I have my own desktop computer, as well as a netbook, a Nook Tablet, and an iPhone.  An information search about any question, no matter how low-priority the answer, is at my fingertips for 98 percent of my waking hours (it would be 100 percent, but sometimes I can't get a signal on my phone) and even for a portion of my sleeping hours.  (I've been awakened more than once by a chime from my phone, telling me somebody just mentioned me on Twitter.)

Before we went to Europe, though, my friend Kim and I checked into the cost of an international data roaming plan, and quickly concluded it would be more fiscally responsible just to turn data reception off for the duration of the trip.  It was a good idea in theory -- but in practice, oh, was it painful.  At least once a day, one of us would come up with some question in the course of conversation that the other couldn't answer.  The "I don't know" response was always accompanied by a disgusted, "But if we had data, we could look it up!"

Mark my words:  Someday the pre-intarwebz days will be known as the New Dark Ages.  It was a time when we lived in ignorance and fear.  A time when a search for answers involved delving into actual books made of actual paper (the horror!) and perusing digests, indices, tables of contents, and other arcane documents, in hopes one of them would point you to a book that actually contained the information you sought.  A time when librarians held vast power.  A time when we posed questions, such as, "Who won the Oscar for best cinematography in 1963?" and almost invariably got this response: "Huh.  I dunno."

You kids don't know how good you have it.  All praise to the Google!

***
Now that that's out of my system, I have some actual news.

1.  This Wednesday night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, I'll be doing a podcast for BookGoodies on winning at NaNoWriMo.  You do know about NaNoWriMo, don't you?  If you've ever said to yourself, "I oughta write a book," you really should consider participating.  Anyway, I don't have particulars yet about when the podcast will be available. (It's probably on my other computer....)  I'll post the info to my Facebook page when I find out.
2.  As of this past week, I am now a weekly contributor to Indies Unlimited.  The Evil Mastermind has promised me a gruel upgrade as compensation for my extra duties. I'll let you know how it goes.
3.  The program for World Fantasy Convention 2012 is out, and I'm in it!  I'll be doing a reading on Friday morning, Nov. 2.  I also plan to participate in the mass autographing session that night.  If by some happenstance, you'll be in Toronto for the convention, please look for me.
4.  Oh, and by the way, the first draft of Tapped: Book Three of the Pipe Woman Chronicles is complete.  We're moving up the publication schedule to take advantage of the Christmas shopping season, so look for the book at your favorite online retailer starting in early December.

***
I'm Lynne Cantwell, and I approve this blog post.