I find that on a daily basis, I see more people plugged into things than not. Sometimes I am only vaguely aware of them and on days like today, I am severely annoyed. Are we truly this narcissistic and bored on a societal level that we cannot run errands (or pee) without updating, texting, or talking to someone else? I’ve observed a coworker walking from one side of the warehouse to the other texting--apparently they felt the need to text someone unknown about their journey. I have wasted many minutes talking to someone only to find that they had ear buds in and could not hear me. We have become part Borg. I look around and my coworkers are hunched at computer terminals with wires coming from their heads attached to many small devices.

I'll admit, when I was first introduced to Twitter by my employers here at Bookmans I secretly thought it was irrelevant (why do I care what everyone is thinking and doing?), narcissistic ('now I'm grocery shopping' – who cares?), childish (I pictured silly teens tweeting away, the twits) and cacophonous (so many people speaking at once!). But I'm going to admit it; I was wrong about Twitter.

Twitter is a social network, but that's only a part of what it is. I have enjoyed meeting folks I wouldn't otherwise have connected with, including the mayor, college students, local nonprofit directors, stay-at-home moms – all kinds of people. Surprisingly, the average Twitter user isn't a teenager with a bunch of piercings (nothing wrong with piercings!) but a 30-ish professional like myself.

And Twitter is great for marketing. I can let a bunch of folks know about Bookmans events, sponsorships, and other news in real time. I can direct people to websites, attach pictures and video, share other people's jokes, news, updates and answer their questions – instantly. It's this real time quality of Twitter that makes it so neat.

The coolest use of Twitter, in my opinion, is as a news service. You have probably already heard that we currently have the biggest wildfire in the U.S. raging just north of Flagstaff. Over 1000 structures have been evacuated, over 10,000 acres are burning. I live on the side of town where the fire is closest, and when I first saw the huge column of smoke from downtown Flag, I thought of my partner and one-year-old, napping away in our house nestled against the smoking mountain. Here's a picture of Ryan and I searching for info about the fire.

So, you've done your homework. You read the previews months ago, then the reviews a week ago, then the user impressions days ago - but you're still understandably on the fence about picking up the latest tech toy. We've all been there, and after a week of owning my iPad, I'm here to give you the definitive answer! Possibly.

I've never seen a single device be so incredibly divisive, both in the tech community and in the minds of average consumers. If you tell someone you bought one, reactions range from excitement and jealousy, to the questioning of your sanity, and everything in between. Some of this, I believe, is due to Apple's absurd marketing campaign, which as history has taught us, will often serve to create an equal-and-opposite backlash. "Magical and revolutionary" it is not - at least not yet.

My dad is a tech head. He has had a computer since the '80s. He runs both Linux and Windows 7. For a short while he was an IT guy. I remember being fourteen and my dad fixing computers for the neighbors. I grew up with this stuff. I got my first computer when I was 8 and I have had one since. I used to be ahead of the curve. I'm 22 and I have had my trusty laptop for a little over three years and I am beginning to feel like I have lost what edge I had. Three years shouldn't be old, but the fact is that three years in the tech world is ancient.

Our very own @sheilakressler went to SXSWi (a.k.a. South By Southwest Interactive, for all of you non-acronym speaking people), so I wanted to get some advice from her, since I'll be attending next year. The following is a quick Q & A session with the lovely Miss Sheila, who graciously answered all of my questions.

Last night we had the first of our two pre-SXSW tweetups at the always posh Hotel Congress here in Tucson. Starting at 5 p.m., we enjoyed appetizers, a few cocktails and some great conversation, from web development trends to Twitter; Foursquare & Gowalla to advice for the SXSW newbies, of which there one or two.

Considering I haven’t been to every trade show on earth and, in fact, I’ve only been to a couple outside the U.S., my title might be pretty wrong. But damn, E3 is awesome! Imagine, if you will, a giant convention center full of massive high definition screens, young enthusiasts, celebrities, booth babes, and people in outlandish costumes, all set to a bone-jarring clash of music and sounds. That’s E3. Sure, it’s not for everyone, but for those who love video games and interactive media, it’s pretty much heaven on earth.

Bookmans' incredibly tall web programmer Jared McFarland (aka Web Ninja) presented an "Introduction to Drupal" to the Tucson Digital Arts Community last week and you can now view all six parts on YouTube