Changed Your Life

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In the Kitchen

Executive Chef
Joined
Aug 25, 2004
Messages
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Could you tell me how the computer has changed your life, is it positive or negative? I was watching a show last night about people getting introduced to one another. They do this through the computer. This seems so impersonal to me. When I was young, ho ho, I introduced many of my friends to the current husbands. In other words, they are married for more than 40 years. This was out of a group of 15 couples. I consider that an accomplishment that they made it last and are as committed. Someone asked where Bilby was? No way to contact this person, other than the computer. That is what made me think about the way life has changed. There really isn't that personal connection that used to be. Why even going to church has changed with the tv and computer. I must admit that I ask you people questions that I wouldn't really ask my friends. Has the computer made this change for the better? I do remember when I wouldn't be afraid to ask them questions about my choices or problems. Now the computer is the mediator between me and the people who respond to my question. I don't see this person, so I have to believe what they tell me is someone being honest or just trying to make a fool of me?

This show with all these people wanting to meet someone sure depressed me. Paying someone to do this makes the whole thing put on a monetary basis. Are people really marrying one another because someone told them they were suited or are their feelings involved?

I do wonder where Bilby is? Who can call and find out or even know if she wants to be bothered? We don't really know her personality. Does anyone ever question the things we do everyday and do it only because thing everyone else is doing? We are lost without computer. Would we feel just as bad without Bilby?

Thanks for your thoughts and time.
 
I have to admit that I don't have a lot of online friends. This is really the only forum where I contribute and feel any connection with the others in the forum. I guess I trust folks here because I have seen for myself that the majority here are truthful. The recipes and tips I have received and tried from here have all been spot-on so that makes me feel they are being truthful. As far as other ways the computer has changed my life, I have learned so much from searching the internet. Sometimes it is time consuming wading through a lot of stuff to find that piece of info you need or want. I first went to college in the 70's and computers were not used for the many things they are now. I look back on my research papers and studies from then to the research papers and studies I do now. I'm very grateful for my computer! I may use email to keep in touch with friends who don't live nearby and use it to contact people locally with info but feel I get enough "face time" with people. The dating process has become very media driven. We are to find our "soulmate" and have this passionate relationship. The man must be an adonis and the woman must be a supermodel. I think we have pushed the romantic too far and have forgotten the deeper committments to care for one another. Online dating is just an extension of this need to seek perfection. The problem is we are all imperfect! Yes there will be some sleezeballs out there online but they are there whether you're online or not! There will always be people who enjoy making fools of others. Online is easier since you do have a degree of anonymity. You may say something in email or online that you would never think about saying to someone's face. The computer is here to stay and we are seeing new rules to govern behavior online appear. So we may eventually tame the beast to a degree but just a we will always have that seemier side of life, it will always be lurking here online as well.
 
The life changed in general with or with out computers. It is so much faster and so much busier than ever. there is not time for anything. So in the way it is good there is a computer and if you can find time to post here or elsewhere you find friends this way. I have plenty of real friends, but I don't knoif they are real anymore, I think people here are moore real to me, because I can ask anything I want and say anything I want the real people are just not the same as they were some 30-40 years ago.
 
I believe the advent of the computer has forever enhanced relationships and access to information.

Many years ago, back on Walton's Mountain, the world was a huge place. Because it was so difficult to access the world, many people met and married within their community (sometimes within their family :huh:). Very few people had access to information, advanced education and communication with the 'outside world' (anybody else remember when a "long distance" phone call was a big deal?).

Today I rarely 'wonder' about things very long. Having a computer and Internet access is like having the World Book Encyclopedia and Dictionary and Thesaurus always open to the right page. It allows me to communicate and share ideas with people all over the world. It allows me to MEET wonderful people with whom I would have otherwise had no chance of meeting. Through development of on line friendships with people on message boards like this I have met in person with several people who have become my friends (and more). I met my girlfriend on a message board similar to this one (not a 'desperately dating' site) almost seven years ago. The 'friendship' and anonymity allowed us to share truths about ourselves instead of trying to 'impress'. The friendship developed into real life feelings. We now live together and are plan to get married.

Computer change my life? You BET! I can't imagine life without it now and, while I know I would have found a way to be happy if I hadn't met my girlfriend, she is my best friend and the greatest thing that ever happened to me.
 
Could you tell me how the computer has changed your life, is it positive or negative? ...Thanks for your thoughts and time.

The computer has definitely changed my life in many ways - mostly for the positive. Some negative.

On the positive side:

Great vehicle to gain knowledge & research w/o leaving home.

Paying bills, banking, shopping buying stamps & having pkgs p/u on line.

Food/recipes - most of the mags I subscribed to now have all the info on line.

Grocery delivery from local chains & gourmet (?) sites.

Checking the news/weather etc - rather than sit in front of the TV for an hour.

The neg side:

I spend more time than I should on the puter, when I should/could be doing other things face to face with people, & around the house etc.

It is an added expense when you lop on high speed, wireless etc etc. & upgrades.

I can't speak for computer dating, as I would rather meet someone face to face.

I enjoy playing games on the puter, but know my time would be best spent doing what I need to do. Yet, it's a stress reliever for me.

The computer is a great resource, but can also be very frustrating when we rely on technology to store all our personal data etc. & are 'lost' without it.

In short, personally, I need to turn it off & interact more with real people - humans :LOL:
 
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Balance

All my life I have tried to have balance in my life. Not easy. Since the computer has been brought into the home, the hours everyone has just talking together seems to have almost stopped. Rather than having everyday conversations they are involved in responding to 'computer family'. I just can notice the sleep they should have is by passed. Sometimes only 3 hours sleep and then off to work. Can someone function without sleep? I don't think so. I am sure your job or school will suffer somewhat.

amy, what you said at the very end is so true and important today.

n short, personally, I need to turn it off & interact more with real people - humans :LOL:
Now if only I can convince my family, maybe I will get some rest.


The computer has definitely affected everyone's life. Thanks to you all for your personal comments. I appreciate them all. What would I do without them?
 
itk, good to see you. i was just thinking of you the other day, and hoped you were well, and still checking in here.

ya know, i have no ther way of seeing you. :)

in many debates over many pints in many pubs, i've come to the conclusion that communication and education are going to be this world's salvation.

computers and the internet go a long way to supplying a medium for both.
 
it has very MUCH changed my life, and for the better.

1) although I Love my books and own several thousand of them, it`s nice to have the Lab shelves freed up a little for other things, as I have access to the worlds biggest Library right at my keyboard.

2) although I use mine a Glorified telephone / Coms device, it has lead to many meetings with other net users and indeed good friendships.

3) I can`t begin to tell you the amount of Thank-Yous I`v had from around the world for helping people with their Science (on another site), that facility would not be possible any other way, and it gives me a sense of "Job satisfaction", although it`s a Pleasure to do rather than a "Job".

4) I have Also been helped by a whole variety of people and have issued such thank-yous myself.

5) last but certainly not least, where else can you get such a quantity of Pr0n for FREE :D
 
Your #5 is genius YT!!!

I have many many positive things about using computers. The biggest one, I met my wonderful fabulous British husband on Match.com! I would never have met him without the use of a computer. Some people think it's impersonal to meet online, I can see why. For us, it was amazing how much we got to know each others personalities before actually meeting face to face.

Without computers I wouldn't have Skype, which has enabled me to communicate with my family and friends back home since I moved to England.

All of the positive things Amy mentioned in her post, I do so much online shopping!

My blog and photo storage are online, which also keep me communicating with f & f.

I have met other expats online, which have made the transition of being in a foreign country a bit easier.

Without a computer I wouldn't have found all of you lovely people on Discuss Cooking!!
 
:) The internet has changed my life immensely I have access to so much information that I would not get otherwise. Anything I want to know about/learn or any problem I want to solve its in there. DC is also awsome the cream of the crop here. Plus I can compare prices get reviews on things I want to buy. And the shopping for hard to get ingredients is wonderful. Living in the middle of nowhere I'm now connected to the entire world. I can find people I have not seen in a long time. Reserve hotels make plane reservations you name it. It truly is the information super highway.
 
Life

itk, good to see you. i was just thinking of you the other day, and hoped you were well, and still checking in here.

thanks buckytom for your kind comments. Don't get to hear positive remarks like you always give. I feel the same about you. How is your family and your birds doing? I won't forget the time you told us about them. Don't that add something to your life? Computer couldn't replace them, your family or your birds? I just feel computer should be kept with the right balance. Not denying yourself sleep or excluding your friends or family. Everybody goes to their rooms and spends hours in one spot. I only wish weather were nice I could make them feel guilty about doing yard work or some kind of outdoor activity.

It definitely is a support whenever you need it. That is just it, the resources are certainly plentiful. If only my dear grandma would have known about Discuss Cooking. Her life would have been lot more easy. Instead of trial and error with 8 kids and most of them disabled, the questions she could have had answered. Would have given her so much comfort to know there was personal help at her fingertips.

I certainly find you people so intelligent. But you do still need people, don't you? Many times I complain that people disappoint me but I am not perfect either. Have to keep trying. Trying to understand that we all have something to give to each other.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and your valuable time. I won't forget it.
 
My job (Web site manager) wouldn't exist if it weren't for computers and the Internet :) And I probably would never have discovered that I am artistic if not for computers - I can't draw for anything, but I can put together electronic elements to create a pleasing design, and I can take digital (or scanned paper) photos and make something new out of them.

I have a close friend who recently met a man on eharmony.com. I think it was pretty personal, actually. They both had to fill out online forms with a lot of personal information about themselves, and after that, when the site included them as compatible with each other, they corresponded through email for a week or two, and then had lunch. And then dinner. And then more dinners, and trips, etc. They live in different, but adjoining, cities and have mostly different interests, so they never would have met otherwise. They're having a wonderful time together :)

I think it's important to maintain a balance. My friends and I go to dinner together once a week and keep in touch usually through email the rest of the time; most of my family lives out of state, so we keep in touch with email as well as phone calls. I know when I first got a computer, in 1988 or so (my mom gave me one when they upgraded PCs at the company she owned), and then discovered CompuServe, I was so fascinated, I spent hours and hours online. I think that happens with a lot of people, but in my case, that interest led eventually to the job I have now. But I do limit my time on the computer, and DH and I go biking and kayaking together and with friends when the weather is good. So I try to keep a good balance of both. And DH will let me know when I'm spending too much time online ;)
 
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For the better here. I am fanatic about knowing what everything I have never heard of before is. Used to, I would have to look in the Encyclopedias and Medical books. Now, I just go for the keyboard LOL
Plus, I get to have friends that I would never have any other way.
 
I enjoy the computer and use it an awful lot to get information - also to check others' opinions on subjects I see posted. I have made some honest to goodness friends on a couple of women's sites. When my sister lived in Germany we kept up with each other every day and it didn't really seem like she was so far away. We still email each other, but we phone each other a lot also. Dh uses the computer to find all the things he needs to work on his hobbies and to stay in contact with people he worked with for years and who he probably wouldn't be calling. The one negative - I have to keep exercising to counteract the time I sit here.
 
Computer has changed my life.

I was a teacher of Biology previously. A year after my marriage I had blood vomit and it was diagonised that I had developed oesophageal ulcer and doctor told me to took long rest and I also had to take my meal timely, but long leave was not granted from my school so I quit my job.

But I became bored after some day then my husband gave me this idea of online job ( he is in SEO field, although he don't help me in my job, he told me that I should learn myself and that is the process of proper learning)
 
where or where was the computer when I was in high school and university? I had term papers due every semester of college even in a biology class! Trying to arrange and rearrange notecards was a pain and let's not even discuss using that ancient typewriter. It's a great resource for me. I love skype as I can keep in touch with family 12 time zones away and I love itunes as I now have an itouch ipod and can down download movies as well as music off of the internet or load existing DVD's onto it. Some of the flights out of here have nothing to watch for nearly 6 hours. Now I have my itouch---and of course there's DC which I check at least twice a day if I'm at home. I also love Google---any question that I have I just type it in and nearly always find the answer--as we're limited as to the weight of stuff we can bring it really cuts down on lugging a bunch of reference books that would take up space otherwise.
 
radhuni, your hubby is a wise man. i can't count how many m.b.a.'s i've had to "teach" how things work over the years, both technically and diplomatically.

t.g., count me in as one of those friends. :) now, don't smoke!

i.t.k., the birds are well, my grey, louie, turned 20 this past fall. he's ok, but he either hurt his foot recently, or is getting arthritis in it. i hope it's the former, and he gets better. i'll have to look into the effects of glucosamine in birds. in any case, he's still talking up a storm. still perfectly imitating my mom and dad, my (deceased) mil, my wife, my son, ozzy, and any just about any sound that he hears with regularity. he recently learned to whistle the beginning of "what a day for a daydream", from a commercial that ran incessantly on a radio i have playing in their room.
beethoven, my cockatoo, got out of his cage the other day, the little houdini that he is, and proceeded to have a day of freedom. fortuntely, he only destroyed a bag of garbage that i had forgotten to take out that morning when i cleaned their cages.

getting back to computers, one of the best parts of my job is that i get to spend a good bit of time online. that allows me to balance things by concentrating on my family and my life. i rarely go online at home. i'd rather be playing with my boy, or digging in the garden. or both :).
 
Enjoy & Safe

You truly must enjoy your birds the way you speak of them so dearly. Don't get upset when they make a mess. I sure hope nothing is seriously wrong with the birds foot. You have such endearing names for them.Thanks for keeping me up to date about the birds. One is 20 years. I didn't think anything lived that long. Must know you pretty well. Always enjoy your comment

Take good care of your family, including the birds and hope his foot heals. Don't want to have to get them crutches. I know you keep things in balance.
 
window

i am seventy years old and live alone. the puter is my window to the world. i shop a lot on line, including groceries.

i have learned so much and am on my third puter.

babe:mellow::mellow::mellow:
 
I contribute in this forum, but I don't have any online 'friends' per se. I worked in computer for a long time, and am a complete tech junkie so you could say they have had a profound impact on my life.
I got into computers because they don't lie, they deal in logic and make sense, if you take care of them they take care of you, easy to fix, easy to upgrade, brings me hours of entertainment and asks nothing in return, and every time I turn around they are doing something new to attract my attention.

Computers have just always 'spoken' to me and made sense. Something reliable in an unreliable world, something constant.

I am told I need to spend less time with them :(
 
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