wow.

I have a confession and I'm almost embarrassed to admit this. I'm in the union crib and instead of getting out of my booth, walking 100 feet to the front of the union and checking to see if the Information Desk was still open, I logged onto the UNL website and searched Union store hours.

That was way too easy. I'm almost tempted to jog a mile to make up for my laziness.

Studying, Interrupted.

I had just begun to write a new entry when suddenly the BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH popped up onto my computer. My stomach instantly knotted as I thought, "Oh dear God, this can't be happening." According to technological folklore, the elusive blue screen of death can only mean one thing: your computer has gone belly up and you've just lost everything. And by everything, I mean papers, photographs, music, resumes, contacts, and whatever else you have stored on your computer. And in one fell swoop, it can all be gone.

That is the risk of incorporating technology into modern literacy. Yes, it is risky, but having been victim of two hard-drive crashes, I still think it's worth it. As much as we rely on our computers, cell phones, and iPods, it is all replaceable. What I find interesting about literacy materials is that they can be acquired, lost, replaced, and built upon. The question is, do we rely too heavily on our technology to get us through our day? What happened to the days of waking up to the rooster crowing? Every morning I wake up to a lovely little number called "Open Air," which just so happened to be the least annoying option on my cell phone's alarm setting. I'm not a morning person.

But then again, a tiny piece of metal and plastic connected by a few wires is a pretty impressive way to help me begin my day as oppose to poultry.

Studying + Computers = ...

I changed my observation location tonight. I'm in the back corner of the union crib and from my vantage point I can see seven people. Six out of those seven people are using computers. (Roughly 86%.) Considering most professors post study tools on web applications such as Blackboard and E-Reserves, it is probably necessary for these students to be using computers; however, it is more than likely that most (if not all) of them have several tabs open on their Internet browser, hosting a multitude of applications. Facebook. Email. Ebay. Pandora. Hulu. I feel like having so many distractions at my fingertips lends my studying habits to the rubbish bin. So my question is... how much studying are these other 6 people getting as oppose to the lone computerless guy who has a textbook, a notebook, and a pen. A computer certainly is much more versatile and given the option, I don't know anyone who would turn down a computer to a legal pad... but he may be on to something. Maybe next time I'll try the old-fashioned route. (After printing off all of my notes off Blackboard.)