So today I was walking through the park, tracking my GPS position on a high-resolution satellite map that I was streaming over a high-speed wireless internet connection directly to my cell phone, when I finally realized what it means to be living in the 21st century. It’s not about flying cars (although those are cool) or robots, it’s about the availability of information. Remember when you had to go the library to learn about a particular subject? Or when you had to look in the yellow pages to find an address? Or when you had to go to a store to find new music? Or when you had to use a crank to start your car? Well I do (maybe not the crank thing), still I’m taking all this crazy new technology completely for granted. And it’s not just me: pretty much everybody I know who owns a computer is completely dependent on it without even realizing it. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing (although it probably is), I just think every once in a while we should all think back to how life was before the internet and then go “I can’t believe how awesome this is”.

That said, I can’t wait to read this article again in a few years from now and laugh at how archaic technology was “back then” and how much greater it is now.