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who will deliver the flowers on time. He finally finds one and just as he is pressing the, "Submit Order", button, their site crashes.

His next 45 minutes are composed of a long-distance phone call to the on-line florist to confirm that they even got his order before the system crashed and confirm that he does want the flowers sent to his girl friend's apartment; another two hours of his workday are gone and he has accomplished nothing.

By the end of his workday, our techno-slave again inserts his parking ID to open the arm so that he can head off to the ATM to get some cash to get a card for his girl friend's birthday. He never carries cash, only plastic.

He waits in the line fifteen minutes, while the one car that is in front of him repeatedly inserts their card into the ATM, which keeps kicking it back out because the guy can't remember the right PIN number to make his transaction.

Finally our techno-slave pulls up to the ATM, inserts his card, and punches in his PIN only to have it confiscate his card because he forgot and picked up the outdated one, which he should have cut up when he received his new one.

Fortunately, for him, he has several bank accounts and can just head off to another ATM. He gets his cash and drives off to the closest store where he finally, successfully purchases a birthday card favorite person.

On the way to her apartment, his engine dies. He discovers that he left his cell phone at the office, so he has to walk to the nearest pay phone. He places his call to the tow service where an automated voice asks him to, "State the problem". He does and mindless automated voice responds, "I didn't understand that. Please state the problem". He states it again and again receives the same reply again and again. Fifteen minutes later, he is so frustrated and angry, he begins pressing numbers on the keypad to try and bypass the mindless automated voice response system. Finally, he gets a, "Please hold for an operator." He holds for about a minute and hears another automated voice, "Please insert more money to continue the call; it's a good thing he had money left from the birthday card purchase."

By the time our techno-slave has reached a human being, he still has to wait another forty-five minutes for a tow truck. He arrives at his girl friend's apartment looking exhausted and frustrated in a rental car. Fortunately for him, his roses arrived and she is beaming happily with appreciation and starving

Ah, our techno-slave and his girl are off in his rental to their favorite eatery where

they actually devour a great meal, but his rented car breaks down on the way back to her apartment and guess what? She forgot her cell phone too, but she does have more than enough change for the pay phone.

By the time they get back to her apartment, there's just enough time for some wine and a good movie. Twenty minutes into the movie, the cable goes out.

Do we depend on technology too much? Yes. Does it control us? Yes, but only because we allow it. We accept it quickly because we are fascinated by all of the great new gadgets on the market and that sends a clear message to companies that we want more technology. Engineers then design more, companies build more and we continue to buy more, filling our lives with time-consuming, expensive gadgets that cost us more time and money to maintain.

Wouldn't it be nice to have the self-discipline to take a day off occasionally and just lie in the sun on the beach? No hand-held computer or phone; just sun, sand and a long nap under the warm rays with the soothing sounds of the ocean singing us to sleep.

Oh, that's right, why not just go rent a jet-ski!

Learn more about this author, M. L. Kiser.
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