Tech Junkie

My name is Josh Stumpenhorst and I am addicted to technology. There, admitting it is the first step to recovery… But in the words of Amy Winehouse, I am not going to rehab http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LTPRJqt2z4

Now, most junkies don’t realize they have an addiction problem until their drug is taken away from them. This is exactly what happened to me last night. My normal Sunday routine is to put my kids to bed and head to my basement sanctuary and turn on Sunday Night Football. While the game is noise in the background I hop online for a few hours of reading blogs, writing blogs, catching up on twitter, and a whole host of other online activities.

As I booted up my computer I opened up Tweetdeck to catch up on the post from #edcampcitrus and #ecampnyc and none of my columns were loading…began to worry. Checked internet explorer with the same result…no connection and yet my wireless signal was strong and connected. I then got my ladder out and headed to the access panel to my attic and avoided a Clark Griswold moment. I got up there and reset my wireless hub in hopes that would fix it… no dice. I then called Comcast where I heard the pre-recorded message that the high speed internet in my area was down and they were working on it…great!

So, that brought me to my backup plan which was my new android phone where I could at least read updates on Twitter and hop online to do some blog reading. Again, I was disappointed to find my phone’s data connection not working. After two hours on the phone with tech support I had my entire phone “reset” which means all my stuff was gone. I spent the next hour getting all my accounts set back up on the phone. By that time I was down for the count and headed to bed incredibly frustrated and upset.

On the ensuing car ride to work I reflected on my experience and utter frustration of not having my beloved technology at my fingertips. I felt I had missed out on something and was “behind” the game before Monday morning even got rolling. I was a bit like Golum losing his precious, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gk4Ntcq5uNg. As I thought about this, I wondered if it was a good thing that I was so distraught about my lack of connection for just one evening. I need technology and I am not afraid to admit it. It is my drug. I need it to connect to people. I need it to research what I can do in my class to make learning better for my students. I need it to share my ideas and have my voice heard. I need it to see what else is out there. I need it to learn a new Chuck Norris joke. I need it break down barriers for me and my students. I need it to enrich my life and my student’s. I need it to go places I otherwise would never go.

My name is Josh Stumpenhorst and I am addicted to technology and I am proud of it!