Why does everything has to be E-something?

We live in awesome times - the whole world is right there, in front of you, at your computer screen.

You can see countries you've never been to without leaving your home, you can talk and see people on another continent with a click of the mouse, you can witness miracles that happened somewhere far away, right from your cozy sofa.

One of my most used books lately. 

But I miss times when we didn't have Internet and cell phones and e-books.

The last thing worries me the most.

I love a good book. Furthermore, I love to have it in my hands when I'm reading it. I love the covers, I love the smell of newly printed paper and I love to turn pages. With my hand. Not by scrolling the mouse.

I just got a little bit upset today, because I couldn't find the book I wanted to read in the hard copy version.
Then I remembered another book I wanted to read, just recently, also in hard copy version, and it was nowhere to be found. But you can find them both in e-versions. And so it got me thinking - is this how it'll be from now on? I know it's a little bit far fetched, but what will happen if all the books disappear and all we have left is Kindle? And I don't like Kindle.

You can't sleep on a Kindle like this. It's not soft.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all about being online. Who doesn't love it? I can't remember the last time I used a dictionary or an encyclopedia. Cause, obviously, there's Google translator and Wikipedia. Or when I used my music library, when I have YouTube. Or when was the last time I bought a movie or a DVD, when there's movies all over the places? I've never been to Hawaii, but let me tell you something: I've done numerous walks on the islands with Street View on Google Maps and I like to have that option available at any time. It soothes me.

Hell, I'm a FB addict (only because I've friends from all over the planet and my folks are far away), but still. It's nice. And then I wonder where did all the real books gone? I just don't want to pay the price of not having any real books around anymore.

Well that would be just sad. Because now I've wasted half of toner to print a .pdf file so I could read it. And because my mom went thru hell trying to find a book for me and finally, she had a friend who had a friend who knew someone who was selling the used version, so they bought it for me, and now that book is somewhere in eastern Europe trying to get it's way back to my mom's, so that she could give it to me next time she sees me. Beautiful, but sad.

I love the online world, but reading the books on the screen is tiring and I hate it. And there's no beauty in it, there are no pages and I can't put a piece of paper to know where I stopped. And it's discouraging. And unreal. And we should stick to the good, old paper books if you ask me.

One of my poor shelves, here, away from the far away land.

There's magic in them. I love how they feel and how I can put them on a shelf. That's why people have shelves. And how their covers are greasy from the sunscreen when I'm reading them on the beach. And how I dropped them in the water numerous times while climbing onto a boat. And when I read them again, I remember how it felt reading them the first time. There's no e-book that can replace that. If everything comes down to e-stuff, where the hell am I going to doodle? And what would I do with all the shelves?

Kind gesture or a predator move: A different perspective

Yesterday was a WEIRD day. I got a bit paranoid (actually, a lot) and here's why.

I was out taking some photos, and came across the skating park. I wanted to get a few shots of the park itself - all the curves and graffiti are making it interesting. However, there were boys skating and I ended up taking a few shots of them on the platform and in the air.
The boys - I must say, the kids - probably early teens, 11, 12 years old - were curious and happy to be models for me, and of course, they wanted to see the photos, which I showed them on my camera. I also told them that I can send the photos to them via email.

At first, that seemed like nothing wrong.

And then, it hit me.

Was that inappropriate? Could that be misunderstood for something dishonest?

I am an adult female. The boys are minors, I've never seen them before, I have no idea who they are and I'm about to contact them and send them photos over the internet. Somehow, that sounds wrong.

I started composing an e-mail, and suddenly, the more I wrote, the more I gained a different perspective. I put myself in their parents shoes - and I was certain that reading that e-mail might trigger some alarms. Could they believe I'm trying to lure their kids into something wrong?

Just to be clear - I wrote an honest e-mail, saying that I'm sending the photos, saying that I believe they were minors and telling them they should let their parents know they can contact me if they want to, leaving my contacts and name. The more I wanted to make clear that I have no dishonest intentions, the more it sounded wrong. Like I was defending myself for something I haven't, nor I will be doing.

I've consulted a lawyer who told me I did nothing wrong by taking the photographs in public area. But I never got the answer about sending the photos to the kids.

Still haven't sent the e-mail. Maybe I should just keep it simple, attach the photos and say "there you go, boys, have fun!".

Many people assume, wrongly, that the restrictions regarding taking photographs in public places are much more rigid.

What I know for sure, based on yesterday's hours online looking at the laws in Ontario:

• the photographers are free to take photos in public places - whether you have people or children in a photograph, there is no law that states that's wrong - except if the photographs are indecent, of course
• there are certain public places for which you have to have a permission to take shots, but those are rare and it will usually be stated clear somewhere on the area, so you'll know
• you are allowed to publish and post photographs of random people or children online, without their permission - except if the photographs are indecent and if you're making money or using them for advertising, in which case you need their approval and are obligated to pay them for it in some cases
• basically, a common sense and morals should dictate the actions - if the photos are inappropriate, you shouldn't have taken them anyway (especially of kids), and if an adult is a model, you need their permission.

Here's one of the documents I found and it's pretty clear about most of the things you should know:

http://ambientlight.ca/wp-content/uploads/Ontario-Photography-Laws-V1.0.pdf

I'm sure many of you have already been in this situation - I haven't, so I got puzzled. I knew about the laws I stated above, but I'm still afraid to send the shots to the boys. There's nothing I can find to make myself sure what I'm about to do can't be considered as something wrong. 

Am I making a big deal out of this? Sadly, I must conclude, we live in sad times, when I spend the whole day trying to figure out how an ordinary and kind gesture can be interpreted as something dishonest. Expressions like "internet misconduct", "internet luring", "children photographs distributing" are not leaving my mind.

The boys were happy about the photos, and I just don't want to let them down. I promised I'd send the photos. I don't want to break that promise, not tough I'll never see those kids ever again. Not my style. Should I've not made the promise in the first place?

Feel free to share your opinions and experiences if you ever been in similar situation.  I'd love to hear some thoughts on this dilemma...