Steve Gutenberg Has a Lot to Answer for
I mean, sure, the printing press was a great invention. There's no question that it changed the entire world. For that alone, he belongs in a category with Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Al Gore (who invented the internet, dontcha know). But, ever notice how you can't say "Bill Gates" without getting a little twitchy? I mean, no question he has done amazing things with his computing machine, but there are implications there - ways in which our lives have become worse as well as better. It is a double edged sword, you might say.
I love having inexpensive reading material around: books, magazines, etc. I love to read, period. But sometimes I feel overwhelmed at the vast amount of paper in my life. I'm not just referring to my book collection (although that is scary big). I speak also of PAPER. Old bills, EOBs, articles I have printed off the World Wide Web. You know, the piles of crap that can invade your life. I recently spent an evening (several hours) sorting through paper. See, I play this game with myself. Since I shuffle paper all day at work, I tend to ignore it at home. It gets put in a pile, which I pretend is going to magically disappear after 7 days. But it never does, and the pile gets higher and higher, and then the cats chase each other across it and disaster occurs. Then the scrambled mess that once was a pile goes into a box, to be dealt with "that weekend" (which of course doesn't happen). I usually put it off until it is a massive project, and terrifying to behold. Unless I have accidentally put a bill or something in the box, in which case, when the bill needs to be paid, I have to go hunting.
Books are another thing. I check out a ton of books from the library, but oftentimes what I am interested in reading about isn't available at the library, so I buy more books than a really want to. Books are heavy and they take up a lot of room. I know a lot of people have comented about products like Sony's eBook Reader by saying they prefer books. But think about how much paper is involved with all the books that get printed. I long for the day when all books are available electronically, and you can keep a library in your palm.
I think it is simply the next step in the progression of things.
So basically, Steve Gutenberg is a hero and a jerk, all rolled into one.
I love having inexpensive reading material around: books, magazines, etc. I love to read, period. But sometimes I feel overwhelmed at the vast amount of paper in my life. I'm not just referring to my book collection (although that is scary big). I speak also of PAPER. Old bills, EOBs, articles I have printed off the World Wide Web. You know, the piles of crap that can invade your life. I recently spent an evening (several hours) sorting through paper. See, I play this game with myself. Since I shuffle paper all day at work, I tend to ignore it at home. It gets put in a pile, which I pretend is going to magically disappear after 7 days. But it never does, and the pile gets higher and higher, and then the cats chase each other across it and disaster occurs. Then the scrambled mess that once was a pile goes into a box, to be dealt with "that weekend" (which of course doesn't happen). I usually put it off until it is a massive project, and terrifying to behold. Unless I have accidentally put a bill or something in the box, in which case, when the bill needs to be paid, I have to go hunting.
Books are another thing. I check out a ton of books from the library, but oftentimes what I am interested in reading about isn't available at the library, so I buy more books than a really want to. Books are heavy and they take up a lot of room. I know a lot of people have comented about products like Sony's eBook Reader by saying they prefer books. But think about how much paper is involved with all the books that get printed. I long for the day when all books are available electronically, and you can keep a library in your palm.
I think it is simply the next step in the progression of things.
So basically, Steve Gutenberg is a hero and a jerk, all rolled into one.
posted by The Big Seester | 12:23 PM
3 Comments:
I'm with DJ - whether paper is the enemy or not, no eBook reader is going to be as cozy and clam-tastic as curling up in my favorite chair with a real, honest-to-goodness BOOK.
I do sympathize with your plight though, and not just because I have to deal with it too. :-)
Clam-tastic indeed! :-)
So the Stonecutters are responsible for Steve Gutenberg inventing the printing press?
BTW, if I ever meet a Stoncutter, I will personally thank him for keeping the metric system down. Life is so much more interesting with the "English" system. Which should be called the American system, since I think we are the only holdouts in the western world.
Hurray!
TBS
Post a Comment
<< Home