Technology failure teaches lessons, forces reflection

It was a Tuesday night around 8:30 and my car sat parked in front of the Wyanet library, windows down, and hardly a breeze to be found.

The air hung hot and heavy as I wiped a bead of sweat from my forehead and hunched over to peer at my computer screen sitting quietly in the passenger seat, casting an eerie glow to anyone who might be taking a nightly stroll.

The question read, “A bush baby, an African primate, is capable of leaping vertically to the remarkable height of 2.3 meters.”
Fascinating! Please, tell me more.

“To jump this high the bush baby accelerates over a distance of 0.16 meters while extending the legs.”

Attaboy.

“The acceleration during the jump is approximately constant. How many bananas must he eat in order to have this kind of kinetic energy?”

Alright, I made that last part up. I think they really wanted to know something about his velocity, but it’d been a long day, and I had no patience for jumping monkeys and physics.

I went to school from 7 to 3:15 and then attended a cross fit class at 5 p.m. (which was awesome, by the way! Please go check out crossfit56!) before finally coming home. Then, when the supper dishes were washed I headed straight for the library, because a test the next morning called for some quick, late-night homework finishing.

It was a little cramped, so only my notebook fit on my lap, and I rolled my eyes as I envisioned my bush baby friend leaping for joy as I hopelessly tried to figure out how fast he needed to move.

After several scribbles and probably a few grunts here and there, I entered what seemed like a logical number into the omniscient computer, but it smirked haughtily at me and flashed red for wrong again.

Then, to add insult to injury, my computer blacked out a few minutes later, apparently tired of dealing with the heat and my insufferable ignorance. Well, at least I can go home now.

Ok, so I realize I was being a little dramatic, but if you’re wondering why I was parked out in town, hijacking the library’s wifi, then I’d love to tell you about our wonderful Internet.

You see, my family pays an arm and a leg for a fair-weather satellite that is terrified of storms…which sent it into hiding about five days before my homework escapade.

Usually after the storm clears, we will have connection again, but this time not so much. I had been patient for about three days, but then three out of my six classes were telling me to get on the Internet to do whatever homework they assigned, and my frustration was building.

I am all for technology and the many capabilities that comes with it, but when did we become so dependent on it?!
I can’t even take a class anymore that won’t force me to be on the Internet at least half a dozen times, more likely about three times a week. What happened to books and pencils and paper?

On the other hand, the week of no Internet taught me a few things, the greatest being that I need to stop taking things for granted and be a lot more thankful. Not to mention that I got way more sleep because the online world wasn’t keeping me up all night, and I had time to catch up on some of my latest reads as well.

Oh, and I can’t forget that it gave me time to write this article!

Positives and negatives aside, I’m determined not to let anything hold me back or control me, and the incidence made me reflect on what things I might have a little too much dependence on, Internet or other.

Just in case, though, get your passwords updated or you might find me lurking around your house some night!