I think I'd die. Nah, just kidding. When I travel abroad I'm usually forced to unplug for a while. Hell, in Greece, while visiting the relatives in the villages, I didnt' use my phone or computer for a good 5 days. And what happened? Larry Craig got caught in a bathroom and Alberto Gonzales resigned. So see, you won't missing anything by unplugging :-)
Then there was the time I was stuck on the Aleutian Islands, while covering foreign policy issues for Senator Stevens back in 1991, and the Russians had their attempted coup. Stevens wanted me to update him. I was on the freaking Aleutian Islands, pre-Internet. What possible update could I have? That was almost as much fun as when Eastern Europe exploded over Christmas of 1989 while I was visiting my non-cable-TV-subscribing parents in Chicago and, you guessed it, Stevens against wanted an update. I had the Chicago Tribune of that morning as my guide. So, for me at least, as soon as I unplug, big stuff always happens. (Oh yeah, and Microsoft decided to cave on its anti-gay position as soon as I hit Morocco.) It's pretty much a guarantee - want some news, buy me a plane ticket.
Here's more from PBS MediaShift:
Lately, I’ve been experimenting with taking one day each week away from work completely. You might think this would be an easy task as there’s a “weekend” each week that allegedly offers up two full days of rest. And yet, as I work at home, the shiny big screen of the iMac beckons at all hours, and I am often in front of its white glow the first thing every morning and the last thing at night.
So, being that I am Jewish — though not very religious — I decided to shut down the computer each Friday night at sunset until Saturday at sunset, the traditional time of the Jewish Sabbath. I make exceptions when I need to get directions or check for a personal email. I still use my cell phone but try to limit it to personal calls only. While this day of technological rest can be a difficult routine, it has allowed me to stretch my time, spend more hours outside and be with people more in face-to-face settings.
And I’m not alone. The concept of a “Technology Sabbath” is becoming more widespread...
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