I took my family to dinner last night. Across from our table was a big family gathering - 12 people - to celebrate a birthday. At the end of the table was a man in his 50s. He sat down and pulled out his Blackberry and proceeded to keep his head down the entire evening. He looked up to order his food. When the food came, he put his Blackberry down and ate. When the Blackberry rang, he immediately dropped what he was eating and answered the email.

He was at the table but he really wasn’t there. His wife who sat across from him ignored him all night as he furiously typed away and kept his head down.

After we left the dinner my wife mentioned to me, “Thank you for not doing email ever at a family event. That was offensive.”

I will say it again, as Karl Marx said, “The more sophisticated the machinery the more barbaric the worker.” I do a lot of email but without balance, you border on addiction.