I usually don't have a huge appetitite for technology. On the launch days for the Xbox 360 and PS3 I had units in hand but shipped them off to other people the same day and absorbed the profit into our family budget. I have an old-school black-and-white ipod that I got on the cheap via ebay. It's great and I love it, but it's nothing fancy. We got our computer when we got married and haven't really upgraded it since. Our TV was a gift from a friend. Whenever we get cell phones we get the free ones.

You get the idea.

But now I'm "that guy". I'm the guy that finds himself infatuated with some high-tech toy that is not a necessity. I'm the guy who is beleiving the hype. I am the guy who really believes he might find joy in something as temporary and fleeting as a gadget. (I'm also the guy who is STILL listening to High School Musical) I really try to not let myself get caught up in such passions, but I've been overcome by lust. iphone lust, to be precise.

Yesterday Apple announced an ipod/cellphone/pda/internet browsing machine that puts to shame any other cell phones out there. It is all screen (widescreen at that) and just about every command you give is done with your finger gliding across the touchscreen. No stylus. Few buttons. You can show off pics, check your email, organize your schedule and listen to music.

When it comes out, I'll have some cash to get it. Between Christmas money and Fantasy Football earnings I'm just about there. And yet, I have dedicated myself to saving all such funds until 2010 when I hope to be lucky enough to score tickets to the World Cup.

Consider this my first temptation. If they get worse than this, I cannot imagine what they could be. Perhaps some company will release a functional lightsaber before 2010. I can't imagine the government would just let people own them, what with very few of us being trained as Jedi in this day and age. But if a real live lightsaber came out, my desire for it would equal my desire for the iphone.

As it is, I'm going to practice the discipline of delayed gratification. I'm going to try to not be so shallow as to let the desire for a toy derail what could very well be the experience of a lifetime. I'm going to keep reminding myself that such a toy would be fantastic to have, but there is little chance of it actually revolutionizing my life. I will tell myself that over and over and over again. I will be strong.

And I'll be crushed if South Africa doesn't work out and I dont fanagle those Cup tix or a Light Saber.

Fair Dinkum