Probably teaching Latin and Greek at a minor English school.
I never said where I thought I would be. Being the young person I am (24), I can put into perspective just how much time the computer has already usurped from my life. I’d say at least three solid years, if I put the time back to back, since I started using computers in 1986. It has been the computer that has contributed to my procrastination. However, it has also furthered me in life. I have a new job which is probably going to be a good career for me, until the music/writing/acting/photography thing kicks off, of course. 
So where would I be? I would have gone to some mediocre college. I would be a shyer person, afraid to speak my mind. I would also probably have ended up in some cubicle for the rest of my life, doing meaningless tasks.
I would most definitely still be performing as a musician rather than working on the industry side - I can’t imagine managing a modern music act or promoting concerts without all the advantages of computers!
Yegods, what organizational skills those like Bill Graham had - to keep track of everything with pen, paper and calculator. And no cell phones… well, that part would rock.
Otherwise, i’d have most likely ended up as a painter…
P
If North Carolina is changed to Oregon and the part about the girlfriend is taken out (damn. :(), you’d have my situation. The internet has allowed me to grow as a person to some extent. Without it, I doubt I’d be enjoying life as much.
I read the thread title and about started crying…
I’m a junkie!
One thing at a time, dude. I got out of my house and got my head straight, then I snared the woman. You’re young, so it seems like you’ll be alone forever, but you won’t. Trust me.
I’m not sure what kind of job I’d have, but it would probably be in sales or marketing instead of printer testing. At home, without a computer I’d probably watch TV, read books or try to hone my lackluster drawing skills.
Right now I’d be recalculating one of several 50-60 column paper spreadsheets, about the size of my desktop with tiny little numbers so they’ll all fit, for the umpteenth time, because we had to make another year-end adjusting entry. Plus I’d be getting the data from a huge stack of ledger books instead of our financial system. Lotus 1-2-3 was a Godsend for accountants everywhere!
Does “not born because without Enigma Grandad would probably have been killed in the war” count? Otherwise, I’d say “much the same, but boreder.”
If I still had this job, my life would be a hell of a lot harder without computerized inventory or registers.
I wouldn’t have “Bananaphone” in my head right now.
I’d probably be making more films, but they wouldn’t be as well edited.
Much more ignorant about things than I am at the moment.
Anyhoo…
Not here.
I would live in the library.
Literally,if possible.
Hear, hear! The 'net is my TV, our cable was cancelled ages ago…I had planned on getting the dish and never bothered once the cable was gone.
My fiance and I mostly play World of Warcraft (though till we got in the Alpha, EQ was our game of choice), various other PC games (me; mostly RTS, RPGs, a text-based online war strat game called Utopia, and word games, him; action/adventure, FPS, RPGs) instead, though I do alot of board surfing as well, on this and a couple gaming boards, mostly.
It’s amazing, I’ve learned so much on the Internet, and frankly, a very good source of alot of it has been right here. I’ll follow all the links from various topics, and can literally spend hours delving deeper into various subjects I’ve read threads about, not to mention what I’ve learned about better debating techniques (though admittedly, I still have a long way to go…but I’m learning!).
Of course, all of that pales in comparison to the fact that if it wasn’t for computers and the Internet, I’d never have met my fiance at all, as we met as guildmates in Everquest, and I lived in Chicago at the time, to his Dallas.
Most probably on a different degree course.
(Computer Science / AI undergraduate).
My whole life currently involves computers in almost every way.
Except for one thing, that I do just for fun for friends, and that is storyboard art for film. So I would like to think that I would’ve pursued that as a career, instead of buggering about pretending I’m a web designer.
Well, considering I never touched a keyboard until I was 16 and in college they were just for word processing, and even then I preferred using my old manual bang on it typewriter, I guess in my personal life I could kinda do without them. I don’t tweak if I’m away from my puter for a few days. It just sits down here, softly calling my name. Of course, if I had something that was actually somewhat current, maybe that would change.
At work- it would be hell. I do believe we wouldn’t have undergone the crappy service change thing we’re now doing (Yes, let’s call our clients “customers” and treat them like they’re cattle! THAT’S customer service!). Reconciling accounts would be HELL. Following case changes wouldn’t be easy. We’d need to hire another 50 caseworkers in order to maintain some control over them.
I prolly would have worn out two or three slide rules by now.
It’s painful to imagine doing by hand all the hydrologic & hydraulic modeling we do now on the computer. I think I’d have to invent one.
I’d have a lot fewer posts here because I’d have to handwrite them all and mail them out to all registered members. One thread would take months.
Maybe working in mental health (it’s still the main industry in my home town), or maybe something scientific or technical.