Very exciting times!
Holy crap, I cannot even imagine attempting to do research without the internet. Am I spoiled? Absolutely. Does that bother me? Not a bit!

I am hunting down plantings of my linden trees in arboreta across the continent. If I didn't have the internet, I'd need a printed directory of arboreta (and a notebook, because I'm sure such a thing couldn't leave the library) and a phone, and would have spent the last several days cold-calling dozens of places, attempting to reach those few people who have a clue what I'm talking about. Have I mentioned my phobia about phones? One massive phone bill and one crappy week later, I might have my answers. Maybe.

Nowadays: I google, then I email. No social anxiety, no phone bill, and no crappy week, at least not for that reason.

Now if only I had some DNA sequences for the Malvaceae family so I could design primers for Tilia... oh, wait, that's on the internet, too. But what about Sargent's 1918 treatment of Tilia taxonomy? Yep, already downloaded. Once in a while, I have to actually schlep my lazy butt over to the library to photocopy, yes, photocopy a journal article, but that's not the internet's fault. That's UIC being too cheap to shell out for on-line subscriptions to botany journals. Oh well, it's probably good to keep my copier skills sharp in case this whole science thing doesn't work out.
- posted by Diane @ 2:25 PM