Which Tech, If Any?

I am faced with a technological dilemma. What technology should I invest my time and money into?

DSLR Camera
I enjoy photography, though my dream of being a professional photographer vanished after taking a photography class. I realized that aspiring photographers are a dime a dozen. Plus, it takes a lot of talent to get the perfect picture, talent that I have in limited quantities. Nonetheless, I get a bit thrilled looking through the lens of a camera. I had fun with my parent's SLR camera when I was younger. I experimented with aperture settings and shutter speeds. Some of my pictures turned out pretty good. Others were a disaster! The digital age arrived and, in typical quasi-Luddite fashion, it took me a long time to purchase a "point-and-shoot" digital camera. Once my husband and I made the deal, we starting wracking up hundreds of pictures. Of course, like most people, how to best store those pictures has been an issue. Cd's? USB keys? Removable hard drives? We are still debating what to do.

Anyway, a couple of days ago, I tried to take a picture of Christmas cookies that my daughter and I baked together. I got really frustrated with my camera. No matter what I did with the settings, the pictures were pathetic. Forget about close-ups! So I wondered, would it be worth it to buy a fancy digital camera where I would have more control over the product? Now, keep in mind, that I have been thinking about this for a while. And I almost spend the money I have been saving to buy something big on a DSLR camera in June. At that time, I hesitated. I wondered, would I actually use it, especially for the few times that I want take spectacular pictures? Would it be too clunky to lug around? Would our other camera become forgotten due to lack of use? I do not enjoy collecting techno-junk, so I tend to use things until they either die on me or become obsolete!

iPod
No, I do not own an iPod. I still listen to my music via radio and Cd's. And for almost all purposes, our current system is fine. Our stereo is in our living room. I can play music on it and hear it on the main floor as well as a bit downstairs due to an stairway framed with banisters. But when my husband is watching T.V., the stereo system interferes with the sound (and vice versa). But I wouldn't mind listening to a few tunes while cooking in the kitchen. Thus, I thought it would be cool to own an iPod, or something similar, that I could dock into a speaker system to listen to my music. Once I started looking into models as a possible Christmas gift, I got really annoyed. No, I do not want apps. No, I do not want a phone. No, I do not want a built in camera. I just want music. Mind you, the iPod Shuffle partially meets my criteria, but I can't seem to find a "dock" for it (unless you know?). Now I am wondering if I even need such a device! Sheesh.

Facebook
Okay, before some of you jump up and rejoice, I am still NOT on Facebook. But I actually had a moment in which I considered the possibility. Apparently, the Moms I am starting to get to know keep in touch via Facebook. A friend informed me that it may be worth my while to join up under an alias (since I am mildly paranoid about the lack of Internet security) so I can keep up with the vibe. I thought about it, but then I said to myself, "Well, I just couldn't be 'friends' with these Moms. I mean, I would want to connect up with my family. But, I wouldn't mind being 'friends' with my actual friends as well. But then I will have to keep up my status. And I'll feel obligated to look at people's pictures. Plus I'll get all those annoying e-mails about being added to a person's 'friends' list and sometimes I will have to reply with an awkward 'thanks but NO'. I might get pressured to post pictures of my kids (while on this blog I don't mind posting occasionally because I have more control over this site). And the evil side of me kind of enjoys gossip, so I'll get tempted to blab such-in-such about so-in-so. Ah! Forget it!" I still feel a bit (a very small microscopic bit) bad, since I do want to get to know people in this town. BUT, I really need one GREAT friend, not twenty shallow relationships, right?

Any insights, all you techno geeks out there?

(Sorry, not all techno users are geeks, but it has a nice ring, doesn't it?)

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