techno-biography

I guess my first real brush with technology was in elementary school. I still remember the computer lab and playing math games with alligators and apples on those old green-screen Macs. God, that was big time technology back then. We didn't use computers or major technology outside of television for much else during my childhood. Basically that was it until Nintendo came out. Wow, that was really big time! It's hysterical to me now, looking at these amazing graphics on the Playstation 3 and remembering the crappy Nintendo and Sega graphics that were around when I was a kid. We thought that was pretty amazing back then, though! I keep thinking, how much more can they improve on this stuff, really? Then they do!

I didn't really use computers for school work until the end of high school, and even then it was really for only typing papers. I did take a Data Processing class, where basically we learned how to draw circles and squares with code. High school kids now would probably die with laughter if they saw the pathetic things we had to do. I never used the internet for research. I remember writing my senior thesis, looking everything up in big dusty books in the library for hours. Do they still make high school students use books for their senior thesis, I wonder? I mean, yeah, it's been over a decade since I graduated (omg!), but did they change protocol that much? Can students write their whole thesis with digital support only?

It's so funny to me looking back now. The internet, and computers in general are such an integral part of my life, and I'm low end of the technology knowledge spectrum! I can't believe this movement started really only within the past 10 to 15 years. My five year old is learning how to use computers in her state-of-the-art lab at school right now. I'm running full-tilt to keep up with technology, and she will more than likely exceed my knowledge within the next two-to-three years. Scary thought, actually. Also scary is how dependent we are on technology today. If my Blackberry stops working properly, I start to freak out. How did everyone function before all of this? It hasn't been that long ago, but I already forget...