I went and got the quarterly haircut today. Every time I go to this place, I might as well have stepped into a foreign nation, or maybe onto the surface of an alien planet. The talk there consists of people on television, most of whom I don't recognize. Sometimes they will talk about what their kids are doing, or not doing more often than not. The people in this place are not "bad" people and I have no ill will against them, it is just that we live in different places. I describe my job as "I make the computers work" and that stops the conversation. They were talking about some TV star that said something stupid and went to social media to defend herself. They were also talking about the tests their kids had to take for NCLB that are coming up. They might as well have been speaking Korean.

The last time I was there I got one of the younger and newer employees. She could not wrap her brain around my not owning a television, not being on Netflix of Hulu and not watching movies on Amazon. She asked me "so, what DO you do?" and it felt like the saddest question ever. We live in a world where you can watch live HD video from the SPACE STATION on your phone anywhere there is civilization! I live in a city that is building three brand new libraries, one not even a mile from this place! I used to be very frustrated and angry when people "waste my time" with talk of TV and celebrity gossip and pop culture fluff; now I just find it sad and keep my mouth shut. Nod, smile, and move on.

Today I did mention to my hair cutter that if her kid was having trouble in school he should go to khanacademy.org and search for videos on what he was having trouble with. Hopefully she passes the info along.