Philosophy

A Moment of Unplugged Zen Poolside

by Mark Glaser

The sun is beating down on me through hazy clouds and cool breeze. I'm sitting in a metal pool chair, perched at the edge of the water, with my feet dangling in. There's a fake palm tree nearby, giving me some shade and a spray of water to cool me.

The scene is far from quiet, as this is a sprawling kids swim park, with children of all ages swarming about, climbing stairs and coming down slides. Water is spurting all around, from water guns attached to turrets, from PVC pipes that open with the tug of ropes, from a very large bucket that sits atop the slide and pours out over everyone from time to time. As I watch my son and his cousins go up the stairs and down the slide, up the stairs and down the slide, up the stairs and down the slide, I slowly reach a state of quiet solitude.

• July 7, 2008
• 5 comments

Digging Deeper

'Technology Sabbath' Offers One Day to Unplug

by Mark Glaser

Lately, I've been experimenting with taking one day each week away from work completely. You might think this would be an easy task as there's a "weekend" each week that allegedly offers up two full days of rest. And yet, as I work at home, the shiny big screen of the iMac beckons at all hours, and I am often in front of its white glow the first thing every morning and the last thing at night.

• June 5, 2008
• 8 comments

Media Usage

When Did Computers Become the Life of the Party?

by Mark Glaser

There was a time not so long ago when home computers sat on desks away from the main action in households. People used them for basic productivity tasks such as word processing and spreadsheets. Now, things have changed to the point where our home computers have become a center of our entertainment universe, offering up music, videos and photos....

• February 25, 2008
• 2 comments

Jennifer Woodard Maderazo

Food Lovers Become Experts at Chowhound, Yelp

by Jennifer Woodard Maderazo

Before the web was in widespread use, food lovers would wait patiently for the New York Times restaurant reviews to come out for the hottest new spot in SoHo, or for hometown papers to write up the little Korean joint that just opened down the street. We relied heavily on that system of stars, dollar signs and bells indicating...

• July 27, 2007
• 8 comments

Philosophy

Balancing Work and Play on Summer Vacation

by Mark Glaser

I promised myself (and you, dear readers) that I would take a real summer vacation this year, and try my best to unplug from technology, from work, from my usual mode of media overload.

• August 4, 2006
• 4 comments