I know that I should be grateful for the amazing progress the industry has made in terms of speeding things up - electroninc things in particular. But I find that, even with the exponential increases in chip speed and iterative improvements in software performance, I am become even less tolerant of delays.

Some of the problems stem from my own irrational expectations. For example, after using super high-speed connections at work and securing broadband networking at home, I have gotten quite used to fast Internet speeds. So when my "web-enabled" cell phone offers me the chance to browse the Internet from my mobile device, I can't help but get frustrated with the lag time between page requests. Of course I know that these devices are not yet capable of competing with land lines but, that doesn't mean I can't complain!

Then there are the little things. I love the fact that I don't have to reboot my Mac laptop for weeks and that just shutting the lid puts it to sleep. But when I later open the lid, I find myself impatiently tapping

my fingers on the Shift key while the OS takes its sweet time waking up. I actually measured the time once and was surprised that I couldn't even finish a single yawn before the computer was back in action (a remarkable feat for any computer really), but it still seems like it could be faster.

Here are some other things for which I have a hard time waiting:

• How long does it take to crank out a color picture on my printer?
• How much time does a digital camera need to be ready for the next picture?
• Rebate checks (for electronics) - c'mon, how long does it take to give me back my $5!?!
• The FBI warning on every DVD I play - can't I just sign something to forgoe these from now on?
• Turning on my fancy new DLP TV
• Voicemail prompts - I know you're not there, I just want to leave a message.
• The triple fast-forward on my Tivo - I need even faster-forward!
• One word: faxes!

The problem is that its only likely to get worse, not better. Until everything electronic is immediate, with NO waiting, I will still have room to complain.