NEWS: Wil Wheaton's Geek in Review: On the Benefits of Going Off the Grid

GEEK: Wil Wheaton's Geek in Review: On the Benefits of Going Off the Grid

This ultra-connected world we live in is really cool, isn’t it? Any information we could possibly want is literally at our fingertips: we get directions from Google Maps sent straight to our cell phones, our GPS devices ensure that we’re never lost (despite our best efforts) and the days of wondering what that actor’s name is, or what the lyric to that song actually was (Alex the Seal? What the hell does that mean?) are gone forever, replaced by just a few keystrokes at Google or Wikipedia.

Do you know the actual phone numbers of the people you call regularly? Or is that just saved in your cell phone? When you’re online, do you actually know your passwords, or are they auto-saved as well? Do you have a roadmap in your car, or a Thomas Guide? What would you do if you got lost without a cell phone or a GPS device? Have you ever stopped to think about how dependent we actually are on technology, and what we’d do if we suddenly lost it one day?

I think about it all the time, and I have considered trying my hand at writing a short SF story about what happens when all the technology we rely upon goes kaput one day. Because whenever anything bad happens to technology, the most correct way to describe it is “kaput.” I’m serious. Go look it up at Google, or go to the library and use the card catalog if you really want to see what I’m talking about.

If you don't have time to go to the library at the moment, keep reading: I unintentionally got to experience how it felt to be entirely “off the grid” and live a technology-free life for five days beginning last Thursday.

It was a hectic morning. I went out to Beverly Hills to shoot some video for FanLib, as part of this Star Trek fanfic contest I’m hosting (note that this contest wouldn’t exist without the Internet. That’s important). Traffic was miserable, so I didn’t get home until four hours after we’d planned to leave, and I still needed to ftp my book’s files to the printer. (Please note that, just ten years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to ftp a bunch of pdf files to a printer, who would use digital printing for my book. I would have to print everything out and ship it overnight. What took fifteen minutes last week would have taken at least 24 hours a decade ago). Shortly after I sent all the files to the printer, I hopped into the car with my wife, kids, and dogs, and headed up to Lake Tahoe one last family vacation together before Ryan goes to college in August.

I haven’t taken a real vacation in years, mostly because it’s hard for me to justify the cost (especially now that I have a kid going to college in about five weeks). It’s also hard for me to get away from the work I do online every single day, because I really do spend about half of my waking life connected to the Internets in some way. (Please note that I’m not complaining about this. About two months ago, I got together with some other full-time bloggers for drinks, and we all marveled at how we all had jobs that didn’t even exist when we were in high school, because the Internet wasn’t the massive series of tubes that it is today).

I didn’t know about the vacation until two days earlier, when my wife sprung it on me as a surprise (Pleae note: Wil hates surprises). I didn’t even want to take the vacation, citing the above reasons, but Anne pointed out that we haven’t had a family vacation in years, the kids will be out of the house before we know it, and, oh yeah, she worked her ass off for the last two months so we could afford the trip.

“Really?” I said.

“Yeah,” she smiled, “I didn’t think you’d notice because you were in Gotta Finish The Book Land.”

She was right, and I’m a sucker for my wife’s smile, so I scrambled like crazy to get five days of work done in two days, and just after 2:30 on Thursday, we were all in the family truckster, heading up the freeway.

Wednesday Night:

“I have to bring my laptop,” I told her while we were packing, “because I still have lots of work to do. I have a column to write, I need to work on my Geek in Review, I have my Netscape submissions to post, and I’m --”

“There will be wireless Internet near the cabin,” she said, “and you can get all your work done while we’re there. Don’t worry.”

I was skeptical, but she used the goddamn smile on me again.

“Okay,” I said.

When we got to the cabin, it quickly became clear that there wasn’t convenient wireless Internet; we were staying near Tahoma, on the West shore of the lake, and the closest WiFi was in Tahoe City, about ten minutes down the road.

I freaked out a little bit, and began to think of ways I could get online: walking around the neighborhood and hoping for an open access point seemed like a possibility. Driving into Tahoe City and buying a cellular wireless card was another.

Or . . . I could just let it go. None of my deadlines were until Wednesday, and we’d get home Monday night. I’d have a hellish day on Tuesday, to put it mildly, but I could still get everything done on time.

And I’d get to have the first real vacation I’ve had with my family in years, at a time when I needed a real vacation more than just about anything else in the world.

It wasn’t as easy a decision as you’d think, and I spent much of the first day we were up there going back and forth on it. It was during a game of over the line wiffle ball in the street that evening, breathing in clean mountain air, listening to the wind blow through the pines, when my son told me how much fun it was to play like this together that I made my choice. After about twelve hours of agonizing, I couldn’t believe I’d even spent one minute worrying about going off the grid.

By the end of the next day, I was happier and more relaxed than I’ve been in ages, and I think going entirely off the grid is why. Without the cell phone constantly ringing, without a pile of Bloglines subscriptions to read, without the constant drone of news and rapid fire influx of information I’ve come to take for granted as a constantly-connected guy, I could just relax and enjoy life. I could walk my dogs, take all the time I wanted to make meals, and play Othello with Ryan, without feeling like I should really be working.

I also got to enjoy the geeky things I did long before I fell down that damn series of Tubes (please note that it’s not like a truck) like finishing The Forever War, which I can’t believe I hadn’t read until now, and has assumed a place in my top ten science fiction books of all time. (Seriously. If you haven’t read it before now, or if you’ve only read anything other than The Author’s Preferred Edition, and you enjoy military or hard SF at all, you absolutely must pick it up. I am not ashamed to admit that parts of this book brought tears to my eyes.)

I also brought some geeky games along, including Ticket to Ride: Europe, which is just like Ticket To Ride, but fun, and with a skill element involved. Nolan and I convinced Anne to give it a try, and we had one of the most enjoyable game-playing evenings we’ve had since I introduced my family to Settlers of Catan.

There was a television, but I didn’t watch the news. My cell phone got such terrible reception, I just turned it off and left it off until we were driving back down toward Sacramento Monday morning. I lived a 1995 lifestyle for five days, and I loved every minute of it. (Please note that the only bit of modern technology I really missed was satellite or Internet radio, because even though we got a cool classic rock station from Reno, I got really tired of hearing Aerosmith’s Dream On after the eleventy billionth time on Saturday.)

When I got home, I talked to my dad on the phone. He’s a perfusionist, and spent just about every childhood vacation that I can recall chained to his beeper (it pre-dates the pager, kids. Ask your parents).

I told him how great the vacation was, because I left the Internet -- and all the other distractions that so frequently get between me and the people I love -- at home.

“You know how you’d sometimes get to leave the beeper at home, and we’d have a totally uninterrupted family vacation?” I said.

“Yes,” he said, “those were my favorite times when you guys were kids.”

“It was like that, only this time it was me without the beeper,” I said.

“It's great, isn't it?” He said.

“Yeah,” I said, "It really is.”

If you get a chance to go entirely offline, even if it’s only for a three-day weekend, do it. You may have to endure a hellish Tuesday, but I promise you, it’s entirely worth it.

Wil Wheaton had a hellish Tuesday. It was entirely worth it.

For this very reason, I leave my handphone turned off and tell people to "just message me". Then I check messages once every day or so. It drives my friends crazy, but means that I am never interrupted by unwanted calls.

I'm amazed that you hadn't already read The Forever War. It's terrific, isn't it?

So far I have given up television, but I don't think I could entirely give up internet or my cell...but I can go a few days without them, sometimes I wish it was longer...good for you Will!

Awesome and heartfelt Wil. Good for you man. I am still trying to grasp the reality that you have a son who is getting ready to go to college. I am sure you were much younger than me when I used to watch you on TV! lol

I find it ironic that I lived for 30 years without a cell phone, but will now turn around and drive home to retreive it should I forget it.

You were in Tahoe and you didn't drop by Reno for dinner at my house? Oh, I get it. You can listen to our radio, but you can't make an appearance.

SCREW YOU, WIL WHEATON.

/cry

Sweet! Settlers of Catan WOOOOO!

Ahem. Yes people would be fucked if we lost power, internet, massive supermarkets.

I was just walking home today and decided to check the black-cap bush that grows near my apartment building right on the sidewalk. Because there were a bunch of nice plump juicy ones the other day but they were still hard and red,
I thought "Damnit. Someone will have gotten them all by now." But no. I got a huge handfull of them. The bush was untouched!
Back at me dad's you were lucky if the raccoons left you any on the bush.

... Mebby I am a know it all.

Once a year at least, my partner and I say "Phuk This!" and head out in our beat-up truck, over Mt Hood, and into the high desert. No beeps. No iThing. No InterTubes. No 24hourNetwork dot whatever.

Digital life is fun. Geeks like us created it, and we're still proud. But very early on, a bunch of us figured out a slightly modified axiom:

Life is what happens when you spend time answering emails...

+1 Wil (again)

gratz dude!

still and all - I'm takin' my laptop and internet access

I misread this:

as: "...I have considered handwriting a short SF story about..."
and thought of another one. Who the heck actually writes anything out by hand anymore, besides notes (and even those are often taken on laptop or PDA)?

My elementary school teachers spent a long freakin' time teaching me how to write in cursive (and as a lefty, I spent some extra effort learning it) but aside from my signature, I never ever use it. It's sort of a shame.

Of course on the flip side, I recently took a standardized test wherein I had to write out a several page essay. Even if I did write things out frequently, I'm pretty certain that would have sucked.

On another note,

My buddies and I have gone camping in the wilderness one weekend every year for the past three years, and every time the only cell phone that gets to be on is the "emergency phone" which is stuck in one of the cars in a lot very far away (and maybe gets checked once or twice over the weekend). Everyone else is no-phone, no-internet, and everything else. I was afraid I'd get bored, as I usually have one or two video games running at the same time (load times, man!) in addition to the internet and the TV and maybe some text messages here or there. But, once you get off the grid, you don't /get/ bored. I mean, you should bring some things to do, but more along the lines of books, and soccer balls, and baseball gloves, and marshmallows. But day to night, you have the time of your life, night you drink beer and fall asleep from exhaustion, and in the morning you wake up with the sun fully refreshed.

Oh, and you gain weight-- all that running around = mad eating.

Wil Wheaton, YOU have a KID going to COLLEGE?

WTF?


...and ps, did the kid purposefully NOT apply to Star Fleet Academy (which should TOTALLY be the next series)???

it's a step-kid.

Wil, I admire your ability to go completely off the grid. I manage to get about 80% off the grid whenever I travel, but I can't be without my mobile. Now that I have a Palm TX, I'll probably be worse about staying connected wherever I go.

I went on vacation for two weeks...to Japan. No cel phone, no notebook PC, no PDA, no Internets.

It.
Was.
Fabulous.

Not as great as getting into the great outdoors but it was liberating to go to sleep at night worry-free and computer-free. Getting up in the morning and not worrying if I was being productive or not was truly a blessing.

I will go on-record as agreeing with you wholeheartedly...going off-the-grid is a wonderful thing.

+wf+

On the GRE you have to copy out a statement in cursive. I honestly couldn't remember how to do it. It's not graded; I suppose that the organization just wants to prove that it's in "your" handwriting (although <i>my</i> handwriting is all print these days).

And if anyone really wants to get away from their technology, go camping on Point Reyes National Seashore. I worked there for a season about 6 years ago, and cell phone calls could only be made in the immediate area (if you were trying to reach San Francisco, which is only about an hour away, you were just screwed). Perhaps technology has caught up with Point Reyes, but I doubt it.

i get so much more done off the grid... i've seriously considered getting rid of my cell phone a few times. then again it is my only phone. it's interesting to think what i would have to do every time my car broke down. the internet is a complete time waster but due to my never dying need for more useless and not so useless knowledge i have a hard time not checking it once a day. i grew up durring a time when the internet was comming of age and i luckly had a childhood where i was forced to find things outside to do or build legos all day. now i see my sister at 9 and 10 watching tv all day and playing online videogames. i think it would kind of be fun to get rid of it all. to have everyone go back to those early 90 times. now days it's just too hard to be the only one off the grid.

last year around the first week of september me and my buddies took our yearly "men only" vacation.we took a trip up to lake tahoe and stayed at harveys casino for a week.we tried our luck at fishing at some lake called spooner lake and the trukee river,didnt catch a thing,then whent to san francisco for a day to fishermans wharf.but for the whole week we were there,i felt i dont know how else t explain it except,natural.that was the best vacation ive ever had.i cant wait till i have my own family so that one day i can take them to lake tahoe.it is soo beautiful up there.then again im from las vegas,any place looks beautiful.lol.

I don't know. I do have a certain fondness for spending a few days now and then with parents or grandparents, which is effectively off the grid as although they have internet both places, I can't use many of the things I spend the most time on (like SG). Even then I bring portable electronics along, although I tend not to use them much more than I do at home (not much, in other words). I sure get a lot of reading done.

But it really does not take long for the craving to kick in. I mean, I could do with spending less time on the Internets, since that often doesn't result in my accomplishing much of any permanence or even learning all that much. But ultimately videogames are still my favorite activity, and as much as I love some of my handheld games, the transition between having quite literally thousands of games accessible to me at home and having a few dozen available to me for my PSP, DS, or GBA, many of which I don't really want to play without reference to a walkthrough...well, it's kind of shocking.

If you have an emergency (like someone going to hospital and needing surgery or being in an accident or something) you'll be very glad you have your cell phone.

But yes, it sure is nice to be able to break away from it all for a bit. When I travel I don't bring anything, I turn off my phone, and maybe use the internet in the hotel lobbey a bit to check emails, if possible. Then again, I don't have very many responsibilitys, so I guess it's easier for me.

When you refer to off the grid I think of Electrical Power. If for some reason we lost that none of the other creature comforts we have would mean a damn thing. Straight back to cave man days. Its an old movie but a good one watch Trigger Effect
with Elizabeth Shue.

Wow, Wil, you're just now getting to The Forever War? I read that when it came out... er, but I was a little kid... er, um... Hey! Wesley Crusher has a kid old enough to go to college?!

Anyways... Yeah, take a week off whenever you can. It's kind of refreshing. But your e-mail when you return is a killer.

What? No Internet?

No SG? No IMDB? No AutoBlog? No Cardplayer? No Cinematical? No WWdN? (heh heh, well maybe...) No Space? No SciFi? No Facebook? No Engadget? (not a typo) No LifeHacker? No Gmail? No MMORPGs? No StockCharts? No Forex Trading?

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...

The Internet is my version of Meds, and I don't have to snub a sig other, or a family to get my fix...

Don't even think of an intervention...

There are times when I wish it would all just go away... glad you got some time away!