Incorporating technology into our lives, and why I can't be bothered to water the plants.

In the past, I have briefly mentioned the building I purchased. On the top floor is a 5000 sq ft. apartment that is lying in shambles, waiting for someone to renovate it. Because I have what is essentially a blank canvas, I can do anything I want. This will literally be my dream home. More than any decorations, furnishings, or other features, what my husband and I both want is an impressive array of home automation gear.

There is an impressive array of goods to be had. I can put windows and skylights that have a thin wire running through them. When I push a button on a remote control, a current passes to the lights and they become tinted. Push the button again and they become clear. I can get special equipment that allows my TV to recess into the wall, only to be replaced by an oil painting. I can sit in my whirlpool, look in the mirror, press a button on a remote control, and watch tv from behind the mirror. I can start the oven from my mother's house, and monitor the outside of the property from my mother-in-law's house several states away. I am able to setup a music and movie server, whereby we can control the volume and song or movie in each room, and while my children are playing Kid's Bop in their rooms, I can entertain guests with Mozart in the dining room. I can even ignore plants and pets for up to a month with automatic feeders and waterers.

But is all of this worth it? Certainly they are cool inventions, and I was born with the tech geek gene (thanks dad). But does it remove human interaction from my day. Let's see. I wouldn't need to feed the cats anymore, so gone is the little pet I give each one when I am feeding it. I wouldn't need to interact with the kids while I am cooking dinner because my microwave with the barcode reader already knows how it should be cooked. If it doesn't, my refrigerator/oven can handle it without me. The kids can listen to their music while I listen to mine. Same for movies. I wouldn't have to get out of the bath to watch tv with them. In fact, I wouldn't even need to see them, even to tuck them in at night since I can control the household lighting from my room. When I say lights out, I mean lights out! Hell, even the mailman or overhead helicopters wouldn't get my attention, because of remote mail sensors and the self-tinting windows. I can even leave the house for 50 years without worrying whether the water heater will burst and flood everything. I can screen not only calls but visitors.

No, I don't have any of these things. Even my towel warmer is not working. These are all things that I could have, and they are useful, but their usefulness comes at a high price. It has been said that no man is an island. That might not apply any longer.