So, my PICU (pediatric ICU) rotation is winding down. Just one more 24+ hour call left on Saturday, and then it will be over. I plan to write a wrap up of the month on Sunday night. Today, though, post-call from the PICU, I was thinking about how much Google has changed the way I live.I got an iPhone for Christmas. It's a fancy little gadget. Lots of buttons. Lots of memory. An ok camera in a pinch. The ability to play movies and games wherever I am. And, the all important, 24/7 connection to the internet and Google. I didn't think much about it until we took the trip to Gettysburg a couple of weekends ago.
My husband had planned things out for the most part. The route, how long it would take, etc. We used the GPS map (which, by the way is GoogleMap) on the iPhone to confirm where we were and check traffic conditions. As we got closer to the town where the bed and breakfast was we looked for a place to eat and were able to bring up a menu.
On Saturday, we used the map to guide us around the monuments in Gettysburg. When we had a question (like where were the Confederate monuments and where were the Confederate soldiers buried since they didn't seem to be at the National Cemetary - most were left on the side of the road since they were considered "traitors" but a group from the Hollywood Cemetary in Richmond, VA worked to collect them and transported a great number of the over 18,000 Confederate soldiers buried there) we would Google. We found the wax museum at the American Civil War Museum by Google. We checked out various places to eat and looked up the history of the Farnsworth House Inn.
Now, when we watch movies, we Google. We're planning for "Life after Residency" and have been Googling everything from real estate to where to mail order chicks. We've looked up draft horses for sale and have learned how to sheer sheep. We also have seen how to sheer an Angora rabbit and how to spin our own yarn.
During rounds in the PICU, I have pulled out my iPhone to check when diseases were first discovered, how to treat diabetic ketoacidosis, and what the water content is of, um, BM's (bowel movements - otherwise known as your poop. Which, by the way, is 75% water; just in case you wanted to know.)
Google has certainly changed the way I am living. So, how has Google changed your life?
