“Whenever FNO Loh was around Japanese sailors, military or otherwise, she felt as though she was on high alert. Even tourists made her uneasy. They seemed to be collecting memories instead of enjoying them” (Sea of Fire Tom Clancy). This is just one example of something I have understood for a long time: technology has altered our society in such a way that we spend more time gathering good times then having good times. When we should be outside, children are glued to their computer screens, chatting and instant messaging, their “too cool” phrases bleeding into their everyday speech. J/K. LOL. ROTFLMAO is one of my favorites. My friend Mike Frazier taught me that one. It stands for “Rolling On The Floor Laughing My A$$ Off”. But as I was saying. Kids used to go outside and play with their neighbors. Now they’re holed up in their rooms surfing and porting with little care for sunlight or fresh air. The odor of bodies is repugnant, but is hardly noticed in the cluttered darkness of pizza boxes and cans of Diet Coke. A ghostly figure sits in a chair, leaning forward with anticipation. All of these images are courtesy of technology. Here’s another scenario. Two young people meet, fall in love and get married. Eventually their junction is blessed with the addition of a family member. The couple begin recording everything of even remote importance and publish it on a website, courtesy of their Yahoo!© SBC Global© internet connection. They go out into broad daylight with a variety of recording devices, adding to the “necessary” luggage required in case baby does something completely inane that is “just so adorable!” By the time the child is old enough, the videos and pictures will have gathered dust (or maybe not, since the parents were intelligent enough to purchase a photo album and spent the last years of their life’s cataloging and arranging their child’s life) and been forgotten. Then the child will magically find them and laugh about how cute he used to be and secretly promising never to do that with his children. LIAR!! As soon as you have a child, all common sense goes out the window. Well it’s not gonna happen to me, damn it. I’m going to remain assertive and alert and… oh look, baby just blew a bubble. Where’s my digital camera?