When Mother Nature Conquers Technology
As I dig out, literally and figuratively, from the big snow storm that hit western South Dakota and Wyoming earlier this week, I reflect on how technology has enabled us to become extremely efficient and information-centric, yet when the lights go out and weather blocks our doors, our technically-savvy culture is literally halted.
This storm blew in earlier than predicted which caught me stuck out of town due to the Interstate 90 closure. I spent the snowstorm with a couple of friends with drifts surrounding the house ranging from 4-6 feet in the open areas with higher drifts against the buildings.
Many people would’ve just relaxed and enjoyed the snow days, but my workaholic nature made me crazy trying to find a way to get some work done. I had my laptop, but no power cord (not that it would’ve helped when the power was out). My friend had a computer, but no Internet so I couldn’t access our network files. I was reliant solely on my Blackberry. Its amazing how much we really can accomplish from the palm of our hand, but I was unable to access many of our campaign-related, web-based applications due to Blackberry browser issues and cell service was very spotty so I found myself using the Verizon tagline, “can you hear me now,” all too often. At several points, I cracked out the old pen and paper to sketch some things out, which was actually quite refreshing.
The snow won’t catch me unwired next time. My technology survival kit/checklist is in place:
1. Power cord ALWAYS – this was my dumb mistake – I may need to ditch the small, stylish laptop bag, for a larger one to fit all of the essentials
2. Blackberry with tweening cord to use as a modem for my laptop when necessary
3. Car adaptor, in case there’s no power
4. Blackberry attachment software in place to handle all normal file types
5. Road report and weather bookmarks in my Blackberry browser
6. Text message road alert service activated
All’s well now… I’ve been back in the office all day and have a new appreciation for my laptop and Internet connection. It was a good reality check as to how reliant I am on technology. Are you winter storm survival ready, technically speaking?
Digging digital,
Robin
