Remember the Internet Café?

I'll bet you didn't even notice that they'd disappeared. But they have. Think about it. Does your local Starbucks or WiredCoffeeland have a little section in the back with those four greasy PCs all set up for you to leave your PayPal password on? Not any more.

But you don't even notice they'd disappeared! Ten short, short years ago, I frequented my local Second Cup at least three times a week. Ten years ago. That's a twinkling of an eye for someone my age. But back then, I NEVER saw a laptop. There was no reason to bring a laptop. I hardly ever, ever saw people talking on cellphones.

Now, if you walk into that same Second Cup, without fail, every single person or at least one person in every single group will be using a laptop or fiddling with an iPhone. Yes, an Apple laptop, or an Apple iPhone. I counted, the other day. 75% of the people in there had MacBooks or MacBook Airs. 90% of cellphone users were using iPhones.

Just think, if you're actually old enough, about that same Second Cup merely ten years ago. People were shuffling papers. Maybe thumbing through text books. Maybe just talking.

But now, every coffee shop bristles, just bristles with laptops and cell phones. Hardly anyone is talking, or if they are, it's over the screens of their laptops.

Does no one find this utterly surreal?

I'll extend this little scene to your typical airport. Look at that mighty pillar holding up the ceiling at regular intevals. It's the only thing around that has power outlets in it. And no, they weren't put there for you to recharge your electronic device. They were put there for the cleaner to plug in his non-portable electronic device, his vacuum cleaner.

Yet nowadays you'll see clusters of adults sitting on the floor around these things, typing away on their laptops.

I'm telling you, if I get on a plane next year and they don't have a power plug in the seat in front of me for my laptop, -- no sorry, iPad, because the seat pitch won't allow a real laptop any more -- I'll fucking raise Cain. I'll fucking DEMAND MY RIGHT to have a power outlet for my portable device, or it will be back to the gate for me.

And while I'm at it, FUCK those stupid little "entertainment systems" built into the backs of the seat in front of you. They do fuck all except get interrupted every time the captain wants to point out the Rockies "on your left side!" at midnight on the Redeye.

I'm perfectly happy with my very own portable entertainment center, thank you, with my 64 hard-drive-stored movies and twelve thousand albums. ALBUMS, not songs.

But just try to imagine what the coffee shop or airport lounge is going to look like 10 years from now. If it looks as different then as it looked ten years ago, I'll probably be thinking this blog post into my wedding ring while watching a movie on my thumbnail.