In the Parlance of Our Times

So I've decided to blog. It's something I've been avoiding for a while, mostly held back by the belief that no one else really wants to read what I write and the reluctance to "put myself out there". I guess the latter kind of guarantees the former, doesn't it?

Anyway, I've decided that I can't avoid this any longer. My job requires that I support faculty who may want to use a blog and without real experience using one myself I can't do that job as well as I should. But I'm not going to do a diary-style blog (really, my life would not be that interesting to other people) and I also don't want to do something completely non-personal. A blog should be personal. There are other forms of web publishing more suited to non personal topics.

So here's what I've decided. I'm going to write about technology here, but with an eye to how it has made real changes in my life and that of my family. Born in 1954 (that makes me 52 at the moment, for those of you who didn't grow up doing arithmetic in your head and who don't have a calculator handy) I've lived an adult life both with and without many of the technologies my younger colleagues take for granted. Working at a college, and having children in their early-mid 20's also puts me in a position to closely observe people who are entering adulthood during a period that is the polar opposite, technologically speaking, of the world I lived in when I was their age. I think these things give me a perspective that while not exactly unique is at least somewhat rare among those writing about technology. So maybe this won't be totally boring.

The technology I write about won't necessarily be new or bleeding edge. But a lot has happened in the last 30-odd years, so there will at least be plenty of material.

Oh, yeah. About the title. If you don't get the reference you need to get down to the local video store..er, DVD store...er, Netflix (see what I mean about changes?)...and check out some older films. Start with the Coen Brothers. Maybe as I experiment with changing the look and feel of the blog I'll add some visual clues. Until then, the Dude abides.

Back in 1964 my parents took us to the World's Fair in New York City. I was 10. One of the things I remember most about the Fair is something I didn't do - try out a picture phone at the AT&T exhibit.

Not that I didn't want to do this. I did. But we had to wait in line for what seemed like a really, really long time. The reason I never got to try out the picture phone is in dispute. My memory involves me selflessly letting the rest of my family go ahead without me when they said they couldn't accommodate all of us in the booth. For some reason, the others don't share my recollection. But the fact is I never got to experience the picture phone.

I didn't mind giving up my chance to try out the AT&T picture phone at the fair, because I believed the hype that real-time video communication was just around the corner. I'd get another chance to try it out soon.

Soon turned out to be more than 40 years later. During this period the prospect was raised time and time again in the media, only to never really amount to anything. But all that has changed in the last year or so. I'm video chatting on a more or less regular basis with my parents and my kids and occasionally my husband when one of us is traveling. Sometimes the technology gets in the way - a slow internet connection or some occasional mac - pc problems - but generally it's much more satisfying and fun than talking on the telephone, and just as easy.

It's been worth the wait.