Remember that old Twilight Zone episode where the power goes out on a suburban street and everyone goes berserk? It seems the exact same thing is happening to Nauru, a tiny island nation in the Pacific Ocean.

Reminds me of a frequent Jerseyan jibe at Manhattan of the late '80s. You know, the one that went something like "we could solve all our problems with crime by sending all the criminals to Manhattan, cutting off all the bridges and tunnels, and letting all the crooks just kill each other".

Seriously, though, just how dependent are we on technology to feel a sense of connectedness and community? I get annoyed when I can't get in touch with Jean because she doesn't have a cell phone. Two-way pagers, BlackBerry, Nextel two-way radio, webcams, cell phones with cameras, conference calls. Whatever happened to afternoon high tea?

OK the fact that I'm rambling on like this is a serious sign that I should go to bed...