Techno Rant

I love technology, don't get me wrong. I can't imagine being a writer without the Internet. Blogs, writer's forums (not to mention my freelance career is entirely web based) and my beloved Google. My first book is set in nine different countries, and although I'd been to a few of the locations, most of them I wrote based on Internet descriptions and photos. Writing that book would have been near to impossible without the Internet.

People who know me know that I don't love my cell phone. Keep it charged, don't forget it, blah blah blah. I hate its insistent ringing when I'm doing something else, like talking to the cashier at the dry cleaners or picking up a book at the library - or listening to award winning author Patricia Polacco speak in a hushed room. Yes, I know you can set it to vibrate, but then I'd forget about it altogether. I always think that for the most part, people can leave me a message and I'll call them back when I get home. I'm not so important it can't wait. When 'the call' came from my agent I was smack in the middle of Target, and she was as surprised as I was that I actually picked up the phone (purely coincidence, I assure you). I couldn't squeal and jump up and down like I wanted to - instead I just hyperventilated until I was dizzy and we had to vacate the premises.

Now there's texting. I so don't get texting. I tried to write a texting scene in my last book, and got some tutoring from the teenager who was working the baseball snack bar with me. It was hopeless, so I just switched the scene to a cell phone. Now, texting while driving is going to be illegal in California. Go Arnold! Finally, a logical piece of legislation. Holding a tiny phone in both hands, pecking away at tiny little keys while steering with your knees and using your peripheral vision to see might be a wee bit dangerous. But wait! I heard on the radio this weekend that they are coming up with technology so that you can continue to text hands-free. That's right, you can call a number, speak into the phone and they will convert your message to text for the recipient. The recipient can do the same thing - they will convert their text to voice so that you can listen to it on your cell phone. Hold on to your hats people, we've had this technology already for several years. It's called the TELEPHONE! Talk to each other already. Sigh.

On this date: In 1907 Gene Autry was born.