So it's 2007. Is life easier?

I thought by now we'd be working 30 hour weeks, flying to work in our personal hover cars and living in towering sky-towers. HAH! But I have to admit, the luxury of a 30 hour week thing comes to mind a lot these days. I remember endless experts predicting that techology would free man from his daily grind, but instead the exact opposite has happened. Now we're all expected to produce more, and produce it faster, using our labor-saving gadgets to expedite the process.

One example: before fax machines or the internet, "deadlines" were relatively spongey. If an editor called at 9:00 AM to ask about a script, you could say "it's done!" knowing you had until 5:30 PM to actually write it and catch FedEx. Now, with e-mail, "done" has to mean "done." And since everything can be transmitted electronically, you don't even get the break of jumping in the car and rushing to the Post Office with your last minute package.

There was also a lot of talk about the work at home revolution, the end of the traditional office, etc. Well, a lot of folks DO work at home, but there really is something unique about the comraderie and esprit de corps that comes from gathering and working face to face on a project. Speaking in terms of television, if you luck onto a good writing staff, co-mingling with like-minded scribes can be a lot of fun. (If you happen into a bad situation, the stress can turn you gray in a hurry.)

And nevermind TV... I spent five years doing office work at the Los Angeles Times, and while the work itself was deadly, the people were great. I don't think we're ever going to lose the very human need to interact with one another...

And with that, it's off to work!