Chark Tales

I came across a blog entry today at NY Time that focused on another article written by Nicolas Carr at The Atlantic, called “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” and found it quite riveting to say the least. Both writers were discussing how the change in our media from the use of printing presses to typewriters to the Internet has changed the way we think and the way that our minds work.

I can argue that the use of the Internet hasn’t changed the way that I think completely or the way that I process information, especially given the amount of time and energy that I spend at a computer on a given day or week. If I totaled it up and gave you an average, I would say that I’m on a computer 84 hours a week minimum. But that would be a complete waste of my time and yours because I would be arguing against something that I know to be partially true.  The internet has changed some aspects of how I look for information, and the ways that I communicate, and it has improved how I absorb information and the focus I use on reading and gathering of said information. As much time as I do spend on the ‘net, I don’t often flit from link to link, or go off on random jaunts through the world wide web. I have the places I visit most being my focus and then going off and seeing interesting articles to read when I come across an entry in a friends blog. But I don’t just skim through an article, I read it in its entirety. I don’t want to miss something that could be vital and important. I am the same way with reading printed magazines and books.

And once done reading an article, I always go back to the place from which I deviated.  Or if time is limited, I will bookmark it and come back to it later. And by later I usually mean within the day.

Overall, my patterns of habit in reading, information gathering, etc are very similar  to how they were before the computer and the internet became available.  I am still focused on what I think is important and I can handle doing just one task at a time (like completing this blog entry with minimal interruptions, especially with the laptop next to me dinging when a new email comes in. Yes I checked to see what it was about, but I didn’t let it derail me from my original goal).

Do you feel your thought processes have changed over the years since more types of media and information have become readily available through the internet? I’d really like to know if it has and why.

Well after a 5 day search, my and my parents’ persistence paid off. I went up to Wal-Mart on a hunch after having friends and family over for dinner, even though my folks had already been by Wal-Mart once that day and had been told that they thought they would be getting a shipment in sometime within the week. Turns out that they had gotten one just that afternoon and in an hours time had already sold out. Thankfully, the sales clerk in the department was willing to call around to the other stores to see if they had any in stock. And YES! The supercenter on the other side of town had ONE! I called my brother-in-law who lived just around the corner from it to go lay hands on it and hold it for me while I drove over there.

I arrived and purchased my new Wii. I’ll wait to hook it up until I get a surge protector. This time I’m gonna be prepared. I’m not worried really about the lost VirtualWare I had downloaded, seeing as how I wasn’t really motivated to play the older games and had actually gotten then for my nieces, and the Internet Browser got touched all of once. So no loss on that either.

I am heartbroken. I came home today and was all set to get on my Wii to play and exercise and I see no power light on the machine. I unplug it and plug it in other outlets and nothing. I weep. It’s less than a month old and my poor Wii is dead already. I talked to the folks and they think a brief power surge that knocked out the TV they were watching while in another room might have been the culprit.

I drove up to Wal-Mart to ask what I should do and they said that I should just bring it back in and get my money back. They had none in stock to exchange it with. I am giving a mighty sigh.

Last week, just before the release of the Wii Fit game and balance board, I went in search of purchasing the Wii console unit. After visiting five or six places, I finally found one at the local Walmart. Picked up a few games I thought might be fun, and went from there. Two days later, the Wii Fit was released to the stores. I searched high and lo for days hoping to find myself a copy. No luck as every place was sold slam out.

Today my luck was in. I had to run to the Target for something, and lo and behold there were more copies of the Wii Fit. My inner child was squeeing with glee. I didn’t break open the box right away, and waited ’til after the family visited and had dinner to see what all the hoopla was about.

I must admit, I think it will be good for me. It is fun and enjoyable and I can definitely feel the burn in my legs. Combining that with Wii Sports boxing (which helps with cardio and arms) and I think I’ll have a good workout.  It beats going to the gym and having to look at all those fit people. Rolls eyes.

My dad passes by the living room constantly and he catches me doing something different every time he does. He chuckles in amusement, but hey that just means that there are two of us getting some enjoyment from the situation.