Please post any comments for Technology Is Killing Us here. I hope it was as fun for you to read as it was for me to write!

This was fun and it made me think! Thanks for the chuckle!

Cute and so true. I'm a bit of a Whovian and so I recorded all the Doctor Who TV shows in November celebrating the 50th Anniversary. The "Science of Doctor Who" episode put me to thinking. Not because of the science per se, but because of where popular English philosopher/physicist Brian Cox held the lecture and demonstration.
It was in the lecture hall of the Royal Institution in London where Michael Faraday gave his original lectures on the science of a candle and light.
Cox's lecture was very good, but what struck me was the smallness of the venue. It couldn't have been more that 50 feet in diameter and people were stacked 20 levels high to see and hear the lecturer. That was because there was no microphones, no television pictures at that first lecture and everything was just so intimate.
Of course Cox's lecture was recorded and the world got to see it on TV. But even the picture of this rapt audience gave us a sense of communication and intimacy. I was stuck by both what we've gained and what we've lost.
We've lost the personal intimacy but we've gained the more widespread knowledge of science.

Artemis

Haha, too funny, and sadly true sometimes. It's crazy to think how easy it is to just avoid people... of course it helps when you've got an internet connection. Been snowed in the past few days, so I get the feeling. Going stir crazy!

Anywho, great story!

Liked the story. I am wondering though what LJ stands for.

Very true! There's only so much time you can and should spend staring at a screen. I find it's addictive!

Hi John. They have daughters, so LJ is Lois Junior.

Artemis
P.S. It's the typeface the board uses. The "L" runs into the "J". "L J"

Thanks so much to everyone who posted feedback!

Morgana:

I'm glad you enjoyed it! I was watching 'Operation Blackout' the other week, and the scene where Lois and Clark argue about the merits of technological advancement hit me like the proverbial ton of bricks. I could just see Lois a few years down the line claiming that she had held a conversation with someone because she had talked to Siri...and so this fic was born!

Artemis: Yes, I have heard that Dr. Who is a very fun show. One of my friends has been watching it marathon-style recently, so I have gotten to see parts of a few episodes, but I don't think I've seen the one you're referring to.

Oh, that's so neat!

Wow. That does sound crowded.

Yes, so true. Being a science enthusiast, I really can't complain, but it's interesting to stop and think sometimes about just how much technology has changed our world.

Mouserocks:

Very true!

Mmm. I'm positively green with jealousy. Wish it would snow here.

John:

Like Artemis suspected, it was supposed to stand for Lois Junior. I've seen a lot of stories with Clark Juniors, but I hadn't yet run across one with a Lois Junior, so I thought I'd add her (although, I admit, the reference is a little oblique -- the explanation of the name just didn't seem to fit into the 'flow' of the story).

IolantheAlias:

I wholeheartedly agree. I'm afraid that I probably spend more time plopped in front of my computer screen than is recommended... but it's just so much fun!

Hmm. Good point. I never noticed that with this font, the 'L' and the 'J' were merged. Perhaps I should change it to 'L.J.' before I send it to the Archives!

Awesome! Loved the story--and great ending
Laura

When I read the end I immediately thought of Raj Koothrappali daydreaming about Siri on Big Bang Theory.

The story also made me think about Technology Traps from James Burke's excellent "Connections" 1978 series. (If you haven't seen it I strongly recommend it. Molly Flynn might even approve.)

Good fiction always involves the reader. Thanks for the story.

Thanks for leaving feedback!

Laura:

Yeah. Actually, one of my colleagues regularly refers to Siri as his best friend, he talks to her so much!

So, so true! Hmm, now I wonder if Lois would always decide to go through the self-checkout line at the grocery store?

Shallowford:

Yes, I sort of remember that one! I remember seeing a news story a couple of months ago on the woman who did the original voice-acting for Siri. It was really fun watching her talk back and forth with Siri in the same voice!

Thanks for the recommendation! I'll go check them out!

My first thought is that she would, but based on my experiences at those (there is always that one really random thing in my shopping cart that will never scan correctly--which leads to trying to find help--which leads to more issues/time spent), I can also see her getting sort of frustrated by those ...

Knowing Clark, he'd be all about the 'interaction,' and would therefore be standing in line for a person-to-person check-out experience

Laura

I liked this story and understood who 'Siri' was in a vague conceptual manner. I don't understand why anyone would 'talk' to Siri very much, though. I only use my iPhone microphone to talk on the phone and make grocery lists (which we find hilarious because the words are hardly ever the ones we spoke). It must be a generational thing. Now, if Lois had said 'sure, I talked to my fans on the Daily Planet message boards' or 'I IM'd Perry', I would have totally understood, because often it feels like the only adults I 'speak' with are via these message threads.

The importance of technology in our daily lives just up and slapped us in the face this Monday. Our modem to our internet provider just died. I was conducting a meeting at my house, while hubby spent the day trying to find out whether it was our provider or us. After a day he found out it was the hardware on our system. After calling and ordering the modem, it showed up last night and this is the first time I could get back on.

The lesson I learned was how many times in day I wanted to go to the computer to find out an answer to a question, a route to an address, read the boards or send out the minutes to the meeting.
Also, I wanted to know who was sending me messages!

It really is relief to get back on! Where else can you go to work in your pajamas? Oh, right. Writing a book or story!
Merry Christmas
Artemis

Welcome back ....

We were gone for about a week over Thanksgiving seeing family, and we had our iphones/ipad with us, but due to somewhat iffy internet connections, I basically wasn't online at all during that trip...it was GREAT spending time with everyone, but I'm a bit of a night-owl, so when everyone went to bed, I was definitely missing my L&C time

Hope all is working well now!

Laura

Ugh. That does sound frustrating! Sorry!

Yup! He probably even knows all of the people at his local grocery store(s) by name!

VirginiaR: Thanks for leaving feedback!

Ooh! Pick me! Pick me!

Hee hee! Yup, I sure am glad for the day that I found the MBs!

Hi Artemis! Glad you got the modem problem resolved!

Yup! And it's such fun, too!

Hope you don't have any more issues with your connection! Merry Christmas to you, too.

Totally! I bet he does

Hi Ultra Lucille!

The Time Machine™?

Fresh from the shower? Why was he there alone?

Superman finally planted an offspring?

Poor guy. Is much on the fly, he can only connect with his wife via facebook.

To be fair, Lois and Clark could live out the rest of their live on a lonesome island and Lois could spend the rest of her days without talking to a single human being.

Michael

Hi Michael! Thanks for the comments!

gfic.

Well...yes. But at this point (to quote Lois) that's not news; it's history. <g> /points toward teenage daughters later in the story/

Great one!

Drat.
LOIS: Michael