Always On

In Always On, Naomi S. Baron reveals that online and mobile technologies--including instant messaging, cell phones, multitasking, Facebook, blogs, and wikis--are profoundly influencing how we read and write, speak and listen, but not in the ways we might suppose. Baron draws on a decade of research to provide an eye-opening look at language in an online and mobile world. She reveals for instance that email, IM, and text messaging have had surprisingly little impact on student writing. Electronic media has magnified the laid-back "whatever" attitude toward formal writing that young people everywhere have embraced, but it is not a cause of it. A more troubling trend, according to Baron, is the myriad ways in which we block incoming IMs, camouflage ourselves on Facebook, and use ring tones or caller ID to screen incoming calls on our mobile phones. Our ability to decide who to talk to, she argues, is likely to be among the most lasting influences that information technology has upon the ways we communicate with one another. Moreover, as more and more people are "always on" one technology or another--whether communicating, working, or just surfing the web or playing games--we have to ask what kind of people do we become, as individuals and as family members or friends, if the relationships we form must increasingly compete for our attention with digital media? Our 300-year-old written culture is on the verge of redefinition, Baron notes. It's up to us to determine how and when we use language technologies, and to weigh the personal and social benefits--and costs--of being "always on." This engaging and lucidly-crafted book gives us the tools for taking on these challenges.

'Delightfully insightful and intensely readable [...] There is an energy and drama to Rory's writing which nonetheless leaves space for us, the reader, to make up our minds' – Stephen Fry The inside story of how tech became personal and pernicious, from the BBC's technology correspondent. We live at a time when billions have access to unbelievably powerful technology. The most extraordinary tool that has been invented in the last century, the smartphone, is forcing radical changes in the way we live and work - and unlike previous technologies it is in the hands of just about everyone. Coupled with the rise of social media, this has ushered in a new era of deeply personal technology, where individuals now have the ability to work, create and communicate on their own terms, rather than wait for permission from giant corporations or governments. At least that is the optimistic view. This book takes readers on an entertaining ride through this turbulent era, as related by an author with a ringside seat to the key moments of the technology revolution. We remember the excitement and wonder that came with the arrival of Apple's iPhone with all the promise it offered. We see tech empires rise and fall as these devices send shockwaves through every industry and leave the corporate titans of the analogue era floundering in their wake. We see that early utopianism about the potential of the mobile social revolution to transform society for the better fade, as criminals, bullies and predators poison the well of social media. And we hear from those at the forefront of the tech revolution, including Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk, Tim Berners-Lee, Martha Lane-Fox and Jimmy Wales, to gain their unique insights and predictions for what may be to come. Always On immerses the reader in the most important story of our times – the dramatic impact of hyperconnectivity, the smartphone and social media on everything from our democracy to our employment and our health. The final section of the book draws on the author's own personal experience with technology and medicine, considering how COVID-19 made us look again to computing in our battle to confront the greatest challenge of modern times.

If you will put God first in your life, seeking his Kingdom, doing His will, and giving priority to His concerns, you will see that He will honor that by personally taking care of you in return. It can be exciting to watch God Himself intervene to make sure that your needs are always met, always on time, every single time. Your trust in Him will grow as you see that you can safely depend on Him to care for your needs. As you place your trust in God, putting Him first in your life, you will find that God will make sure that you always have what you really need. He will always meet your needs on time; and when necessary, He will make a way where there seems to be no way!

After a failed dig in Honduras, aspiring archaeologist Casper Christiansen heads home to Minnesota to face his unresolved feelings for Raina Beaumont, the woman of his dreams. But when he arrives unannounced on her doorstep, he receives the shock of a lifetime: Raina is pregnant with someone else’s baby. Heartbroken, especially when he discovers the identity of the baby’s father, Casper tables his dreams and determines to be dependable for once, helping his older brother, Darek, prepare the family resort for its grand reopening. Casper longs to be the hero of at least one family story, but a never-ending Deep Haven winter and costly repairs threaten their efforts—and the future of the resort. Worse, one of Casper’s new jobs constantly brings him into contact with Raina, whom he can’t seem to forget. A tentative friendship begins to heal fresh wounds, but can they possibly overcome past mistakes and current choices to discover a future together?

When trauma claimed his memories, only her love can guide him to a new future. After weeks missing in action and presumed dead, Private Reece Cartwright wakes up in a cave in the desert. His only possessions are a worn Bible, a handwritten love letter, and no memories of who he was. He’s eager to return home and reclaim his life and the love of the woman who wrote the letter. Her words give him a peace his ravaged mind and body desperately need—he only wishes he could remember her. Beth Barrett has loved her best friend’s brother her whole life but only gets the confidence to tell Reece when he’s overseas serving their country. When her letter gets no response for months, she decides her only chance at a family of her own is to agree to marry the church’s new youth pastor. . . until Reece returns believing the two of them are engaged. Reece’s memories are still MIA, but with his family home in ashes, his best shot at a new life is to marry Beth and create a new home together on the Purple Heart Ranch. With a chance at true love so close, can Beth go through with marriage to a man she doesn’t love? Or marry Reece whose memories could resurface at any time and prove their relationship a lie? Find out if love can truly heal all wounds in this light-hearted, sweet romance of convenient arrangements that unfold into lasting love. Always On His Mind is the seventh in a continuing series of marriage of convenience tales featuring Wounded Warriors who are healed with the power of love.

The inside story of how tech became personal, and pernicious, from the BBC's technology correspondent

For a Christian, the way to reach perfection is to strive for holiness. What is true perfection? Christ's words are clear, sublime and disconcerting: "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." To have God as our model is a dizzying thought! Yet the Church reminds us that, "All the faithful, whatever their condition or state in life, are called by the Lord to that perfect holiness." The Church teaches us that holiness is not the concern of a privileged few, nor does it only pertain to Christians of the past. Holiness is always a call to every Christian of every age, a challenge for anyone who wants to follow in the footsteps of Christ. Pope Benedict XVI says: "Holiness never goes out of fashion; on the contrary, with the passage of time it shines out ever more brightly, expressing man's perennial effort to reach God." Mother Teresa of Calcutta wrote: "Holiness is not something for the extraordinary; it is not a luxury of the few. Holiness is the simple duty for each one of us." The saints are our models and teachers in the ways of holiness. They show us that holiness is possible for us, since they experienced the same difficulties and weaknesses we do, yet persevered in achieving sanctity. The world of saints is a world of wonders, and in this book Pope Benedict XVI helps us to enter into that world. This inspiring volume presents the Pope's numerous reflections on many saints arranged according to the calendar year. He shows how the life of each saint has something unique to teach us about virtue, faith, courage and love of Christ. Dozens of saints are covered in this wonderful spiritual book. The Pope exhorts us through their lives, "Be holy! Be saints!"

Jane Shutt is a down-to-earth Yorkshire woman who leads an extraordinary life as one of Britain's leading shamanic healers. Shamanism is an ancient spiritual path that exists all around the world; and a shaman uses his or her close affinity with nature and spirits to help those in need of healing. In The Spirits are Always with Me, Jane Shutt explains what shamanism really is, and how it is especially relevant to us in the modern world as we seek to connect with our roots and with our own sense of inner purpose. She shares her own incredible story and the stories of many of those who have come to her for help and healing. Jane reveals the ways in which shamanism can dramatically help people to turn their lives around. She recalls her own shamanic journeys to other levels of reality, including adventures in the Otherworld, spine-tingling visits to the Land of the Dead and other reaches of existence. She shows how shamanism can offer inroads into anything from curing a physical ailment, to dealing with mischievous household sprites, through to healing a whole city.