The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

Aside from my usual motivations – narcissism, loneliness, and a desire to be (dorkily) en vogue – I’m not sure why I tweet.

When it come to computers, I'm a full blown idiot. As a stay-at-home dad, my day usually involves hooting like an orangutan and tending to my son's poopy pants—not exactly a George Clooney lifestyle. But when my ancient candy colored iMac recently barked and hissed at me when I tried to open a simple email, I realized the gigabytes had passed me by. It was finally time for me to leave the woods of domesticity and upgrade.

If you're one of those people who is annoyed by restaurant texters, thumbs madly pumping away on their phone while they ignore the others at their table, relax. They may be saving the ocean.

This month, all sorts of lucky boys and girls are sporting shiny new electronic doodads, freshly delivered from Santa and other thoughtful gift-givers. It’s good timing: A hot-pink Motorola RAZR or aquamarine laptop does much to cut through the gray midwinter cloud cover, not to mention spruce up many a gloomy coffeehouse interior. In fact, around these parts, tech accessories are one of the few acceptable ways to incorporate fluorescents this time of year—especially if you’re in possession of a Y chromosome. Cell phones and iPods are only the most

Later this month, the World Future Society brings its annual conference, including a Minnesota Futures Day, to Minneapolis. To mark the occasion, Dregni sat down with the most outspoken member of the Society’s Minnesota chapter, Hank Lederer, who forecast possible advancements over the next century for the book, Follies of Science: 20th Century Visions of Our Fantastic Future (see page 38).