<p>I’m with coureur - it is so much easier to look for scientific information in Scifinder than sift through pages and pages of chemical abstracts! Things that made my work easier - any searchable database such as Medline, Patentscope, esp@cenet, etc!</p>
<p>Google</p>
<p>Amazon</p>
<p>Netflix</p>
<p>E-mail and the calendar thingy that comes with it</p>
<p>Direct deposit</p>
<p>ATMs</p>
<p>Progressive lenses</p>
<p>Microwave ovens (I’m old enough to remember when they didn’t exist)</p>
<p>A good Chinese takeout place on the route from my office to my home</p>
<p>I am a gadget guy - My iPhone, the Internet, my laptop, DVR, GPS and XM. Then of course there’s 110 volts oh and absolutely on the ATMs! Remember standing in line at a bank on a Friday?</p>
<p>In the last 6 months (cause there is way too much everyday stuff to list): My Garmin and my IPod touch. Didn’t think I really needed either until I got both and went on a mini snowbird trip to Florida. Really made a huge difference, although Google maps might miss me now! Also our new dish rack with the slots for knives and plenty of room for large implements and the single spout that drains into the sink.</p>
<p>All you people - sometimes I wish computers were never invented. Really 
To much info at my fingertips.</p>
<p>What makes my life easier? My husband. Most of the time anyway;)</p>
<p>Okay, I forgot my favorite thing. It doesn’t really make my life easier but certainly more pleasant: my gas fireplace that looks like a wood burning stove but turns on and off with the flick of a switch. </p>
<p>And I second the Garmin navigator. I am “directionally challenged” to the extreme and get very anxious in unfamiliar areas. Having a navigator has enabled me to go to places at ease that I would have been very hesitant to try before.</p>
<p>Absolutely the internet. How did we live without being able to call up the food pyramid, where Kelly Ripa was born, what year Schwartzeneggar won Mr. Universe – all at a moment’s notice? I call it “Just In Time” information.</p>
<p>I love the internet, but I get so tired of feeling the need to know everything all the time. </p>
<p>Yes, agree: Garmin. Thank goodness that was invented. I used to try to get to Paramus from Queens and end up in Elizabeth EVERY SINGLE TIME.</p>
<p>Droid
Ipod
Kindle</p>
<p>My cat, Ziggy. I don’t know how I would have managed without him after J. went off to college a year and a half ago. And I had no idea I could love a pet so much!</p>
<p>Netflix
DVR
KINDLE!!!</p>
<p>Online banking, not so much fun as others above, but a big time saver.</p>
<p>EZ Pass. Why do some people NOT have it??</p>
<p>Good quality sushi from the supermarket I pass every day.</p>
<p>EPTR, we are very similar. Love the remote start to my car and my Keurig! </p>
<p>Also, love my GPS and I am probably more directionally challenged than you are!</p>
<p>My Miele washer! No more handwashing. Period. That’s what the handwash cycle is for. No more going to the laundromat with king size comforters - that’s what the large capacity/comforter cycle is for!</p>
<p>Well, the cafe on CC has made my life easier. Where else can I get quick advice on concealers, totes to buy, rooms in NYC, how to see an opera via HD, etc. On the other hand I do waste time on CC when I should be writing reports. </p>
<p>My Mac LED cinema display has made my life wonderful. I spend hours editing, writing reports, working on budgets, etc., and the display makes it so easy for these old eyes to work. </p>
<p>I also have an Ed whose name is Scotty. When younger DD was born, our budget was tight, tight, tight. I was on child-rearing thinking of going out on my own as a school psychologist, trying to piece together ways to earn money but not return to work full-time. As we assessed our budget the one item that both DH and I agreed immediately was going to stay was Scotty. There was no way I was ironing DH’s 100% cotton shirts.</p>
<p>We don’t have a Scotty or an Ed but I work in a school and we have recently contracted a dry cleaner to pick up/drop off clothing on Friday every week. We set up a clothing rack in the faculty room. Teachers and staff leave their “outgoing” there and pick up their clean, ironed clothes on the rack. It’s very convenient and inexpensive. I don’t use it, as I teach art and need all machine washable clothes, but many of the staff do. Most of the female teachers bring their husband’s stuff in, as well.</p>
<p>The internet, and with it google, online banking, online shopping and all the cool chat and social stuff. (I hate to admit it, but match.com…)</p>
<p>My people (cleaning lady, pool guy, gardener, accountant etc.).</p>
<p>And mostly, my friends and community. The last few years I really understood how important real life community can be.</p>
<p>We have a huge gray plastic fence-type thing from Babies R Us, and we put it from wall to wall blocking off the entire half of the living room that contains the entertainment center and the computer. It makes watching our daughter about 10 million times easier.</p>
<p>Other things people have said, like Netflix, DVR, iPhone, Kindle (WOW I love Kindle for iPhone beyond belief – I read more books than ever!), wifi. </p>
<p>EARPLUGS. Partner snores like 10 baby elephant/pug crossbreeds, if such animals existed. I order special earplugs to block out the low sound of the snores.</p>
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<p>And which college is this daughter considering?</p>
<p>And which college is this daughter considering?</p>
<p>^^^
lol. I thought the same thing. I was visualizing a teenager frustrated at being unable to touch the electronics!</p>