My grandpa got a new clock last Christmas. It was one of those giant digital ones with an excessive amount of features and an unbearably long owner’s manual. For three months, the clock sat on a shelf largely unnoticed, and when daylight savings snuck up on us, it automatically “sprung forward.” My grandpa was completely amazed – he was convinced that one of us had changed it. We explained that it was linked to a satellite and changed automatically, that there was no conspiracy to make him question his sanity.

My grandpa’s technological naivete made me think about how rapidly technology has become ingrained in our society, and how absurd it is that we expect a man who is almost a century old to grasp these new concepts. A mere fifteen years ago, only the most savvy and stylish owned cell phones (e.g. Zack Morris), and they were the size of small bricks. Laptops were virtually unheard of. Instant messaging and blogging were yet to explode onto the social scene – Microsoft Word 2004’s spell check doesn’t even recognize the word “blog.”

Today, technology is everywhere. We carry the Internet in our pockets, classes depend on Web sites, and entire books can be purchased and read online. The Internet follows us to school, to work, and even on vacation.

Last Spring Break, while many of you were wearing bathing suits on some island in the Bahamas, I was on a sixteen-hour family road trip to Georgia. My sister was sitting next to me with a laptop DVD player, watching episodes of “Gilmore Girls.” My brother was asleep in the back listening to some garbage on his iPod. I was typing away on my MacBook, mentally damning the state of Kentucky for not providing me with wireless Internet (and for allowing people into gas stations with bare feet, but that’s a whole different story). Our generation can’t imagine life – or road trips – without our little gadgets.

But when I glanced up to the front of the car, my dad was happily sleeping, ears absent of any buds. My mom was driving, sipping coffee and content with her FM radio. The generational gap is really amazing – our parents grew up with none of these technological luxuries and don’t seem to need them.

The more I think about it, the more I wonder how luxurious they really are. It seems like the more advanced our technology becomes, the more likely we are to withdraw from the real world. The intimacy of conversation and the integrity of relationships are compromised by quick and cold forms of communication. We become slaves to Google and Wikipedia at the expense of our work ethic and attention span. Online classes replace face-to-face learning in the name of cost efficiency.

Where do we draw the line? How do we reconcile our improved quality of life with the potential hazards of a technologically advanced world?

These are impossible questions to answer, but important ones to ask. It will be up to our generation to keep technology in check, to assure that our children are exposed to pastimes beyond video games and entertainment beyond television. We are charged with developing cures to diseases, studying the implications of genomic research, and defending our country abroad while dealing with the ethical consequences of medical, scientific, and technological discoveries. It is imperative that we remain conscious of technology’s ever-growing role in our lives and maintain the ability to control it.

I like my computer. I like my iPod. I like online banking and blogging and wireless Internet. I like being able to have a text conversation with my best friend while we sit in classrooms at different universities. And, yes, I even like stalking on Facebook every once in awhile. I like things that make my life easier.

But, at the risk of sounding like a hippie or my mom (who are probably one in the same), maybe we should turn our machines off every once in awhile, if for no other reason than to prove to ourselves, and our grandparents, that we can.

I’d love to hear other people’s C-U favorites!

It’s a starry, autumn night. You’re strolling along the Quad with your best friend or significant other. While deep in conversation about the meaning of life, you stumble upon one of campus’s best-kept secrets. It’s hidden behind a cluster of cherry blossom trees: the Chem Annex fire escape. You have passed by it every day for the last few years and never thought twice about it, but the top of this staircase offers one of the most beautiful views of campus and one of the best places to sit and talk.

Champaign-Urbana is full of hidden gems. It took me three years to find most of them, and now that I’m graduating, I feel compelled to share.

One night during my freshman year, a few of us decided to pay a visit to Allerton Park. It was about 11 p.m., the leaves had just started to fall, and Halloween was approaching. We knew the park closed at dusk, but we thought it was worth a shot.

After a short drive to Monticello, we were pleased to find that the road leading to the Allerton Mansion was not closed off. We parked in the gravel lot and took a stroll through the pitch black trails where, even with a flashlight, we couldn’t see more than 10 feet in front of us.

Before long, I noticed two bright headlights following us in the distance. It was scarier than any horror movie I’ve ever seen, and completely worth the stern warning we received from the park security. If you aren’t into the pee-in-your-pants-scary thing, Allerton is just as pretty during the day as it is creepy at night. There are acres and acres of forest, gardens and ponds awaiting visitors.

While we’re on the subject of nighttime destinations, the rooftop at Krannert is a hidden treasure. If you climb the steps of the outdoor amphitheater, you can access the Krannert rooftop and get a beautiful view of campus.

And while you’re there, check out some of the unbelievable discounts that we receive as UI students. The Russian National Ballet, the Symphony Orchestra, jazz shows and wine tasting are just a few examples of the amazing programming offered by Krannert.

But Krannert isn’t the only place to see great performances. Champaign-Urbana offers an incredible local music scene. When my roommate, Lauren Noone, was the host of WPGU’s “Inner Limits,” I was exposed to the amazing bands that call this community home. From Cowboy Monkey to Canopy to the Highdive, there are local performers scattered around C-U nearly every night. Though my favorite DJ no longer hosts “Inner Limits,” Joe Smyth does a great job of showcasing local talent on 107.1 on Sundays at 9 p.m.

I discovered my favorite local music performance inadvertently while studying at Café Kopi.

It was a Saturday night, and I was sitting at a table outside when I noticed two middle-aged men setting up shop across the street. They spent the next four hours playing classic rock and alternative music from the ’80s and ’90s, accepting coins and dollar bills from passers-by. If you’re lucky, you’ll get to hear street performers and meet Jen in the same night. A philosopher and poet who frequents Café Kopi, Jen offers some interesting insight and great conversation.

As winter approaches, and places like the rooftop of Krannert and the sidewalk outside Kopi become less viable, we’ll be seeking out hot beverages and indoor hangouts. As a non-coffee drinker, and self-proclaimed hot chocolate connoisseur, I would call Za’s hot chocolate the best on campus.

If you’re looking for a nice meal to break up your winter routine, try Milo’s in Urbana. It recently moved to the intersection of Philo and Windsor roads, but the food is still great.

On my first visit, I was intrigued by the upside-down pizza, a unique approach to a college staple. It is cooked upside down in a bowl, with the dough forming an air bubble over the ingredients. When the server brings it to the table, he cuts it out of the bowl and flips it onto your plate. Gastronomically brilliant.

And finally, the best-kept secret of campus: life north of Green Street. Leasing a house up north is ideal – it’s two blocks from Green Street bars, three blocks from the Quad, it’s relatively quiet on weekends, and it does not smell like a frat house. What more could you ask for?

After three and a half years in Champaign-Urbana, these simple pleasures have defined my UI experience. I challenge you to take advantage of your time in the C-U, and discover some secrets of your own.

Here’s last week’s DI article:

As a Cubs fan, baseball season ended for me a few weeks ago with a disappointing loss to the Dodgers. To avoid any further salt in my open wounds, I have avoided ESPN and the DI sports section as much as possible. But despite my withdrawal from all things baseball, I’ve heard a lot lately about second base.

If you pay any attention on your walk to class (and judging by the number of bicycle/student collisions I see, you may not), then you’ve noticed a new fashion trend on campus: T-shirts that read “Save Second Base” with two large, suggestively placed baseballs across the chest.

As part of a campuswide fundraising campaign, Colleges Against Cancer is selling these “slightly controversial” T-shirts, along with more traditional apparel, in an attempt to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

In their failed attempt at humor, Colleges Against Cancer is trivializing a condition that affects millions of people worldwide. They turn a traumatizing experience into the butt of a vulgar joke to make a few dollars, ironically cheapening their cause.

“Second base” is a reference to male sexual accomplishment. It is part of an analogy that makes women part of a contest of conquests. The implication is that females serve no purpose beyond satisfying men, boosting their egos, and inspiring high-fives.

I know that the locker room lingo isn’t going away because chauvinism is a reality in this country. Some men will continue comparing women to sports games and sex to home runs. But a student group reducing breast cancer patients to part of a sexual analogy is despicable. From a group like Colleges Against Cancer that does really great work on campus, organizing fundraisers and the local Relay for Life, I expected a more mature approach. Instead, they have chosen to reinforce a sexual double standard that treats women as objects (in this case, baseballs).

Beyond the problematic sexual references, these T-shirts can be personally offensive for people battling the disease. More than half the women in the U.S. who are diagnosed with breast cancer will need a mastectomy, a procedure that surgically removes one or both breasts to rid the body of cancerous tissue. Though this procedure saves lives, it can be devastating. Millions of women around the world are grappling with the reality of life without breasts, struggling with self-definition.

Rather than celebrating women’s beauty and feminine value beyond their anatomy, these shirts serve as reminders of the value society places on boobs. We see it everywhere: music videos, reality TV shows, and movies, on the sidelines of football games, and even in dorm room posters. Sadly, we accept the objectification of women as an essential strategy of the entertainment industry. By tying boobs directly to female worth, the media, and now T-shirts on this campus, make the question of identity without breasts even more difficult to answer.

Women are not the only ones who should be offended. In 2008, about 2,000 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States, but they are left out of the clever baseball references. Can we work on a shirt that hyper-sexualizes them, too?

Overall, it’s been a disappointing few weeks for me. I’m not too hung up on the Cubs thing. A lifetime of Cubs losses has taught me not to expect much out of Wrigley. But three years of involvement here has taught me to expect a great deal from U of I students. I expected that this campus would respect the courage of men and women diagnosed with cancer. Instead, I see an inappropriate mockery of a life-threatening condition. I thought we would hold ourselves to a higher standard. I guess I expected too much.

If you have already purchased a shirt, I’m sure the American Cancer Society appreciates the donation. If I were you, I would think twice about wearing it. It’s fine if you love boobs, but don’t forget to love the women to whom they belong.