Welcome to Cyborg Society

As someone who spends an inordinate amount of time every day staring at computer screens, yesterday's events left me more than a little bit uneasy.

Three "glitches" in the technology that runs our lives brought much of that enterprise to a grinding halt.

First, United Airlines had to ground their entire fleet - think about that, every United plane across the country - because of computer problems.

Then the Wall Street Journal's website was knocked offline.

And just before lunch, the New York Stock Exchange announced they were halting trading because of a technology issue.

Of course, many overactive minds (including the one staring at this screen) wondered if this trilogy was more than just some nerdy coincidence.

Was Wall Street being hacked? Was United Airlines the victim of a cyberattack? Was the Bible of Business the target of online warriors? The answer to all three questions appears to be no.

That doesn't make me feel any better.

I tell anyone who will listen that one of the toughest parts of my job is just - for maybe a few minutes every day - to get away from all this technology and mania of being "plugged-in" 24 hours a day.

That wasn't an issue for a lot of people yesterday.

It didn't make me feel any better.

Remember, we're supposed to be running the machines, not the other way around.

Welcome to Cyborg Society. Be careful out there.

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