While we sometimes make light of people who are addicted to their cellphones, social media and the like, it is true that some of the newer gadgets are pretty nifty.
There is a charge the first time you pinch or expand the touch screen of an iPad and watch a map shrink or blow up right before your eyes.
"My goodness," you think, "CNN's John King has nothing on me - the size of the universe is at my fingertips. Perhaps I, too, will become a map master and impress women by zeroing in on obscure counties in Indiana, revealing their vote count, precinct by precinct."
Are women impressed by such things? They should be.
The other gadget we can't wait to try is the handy little video game (Wii, Xbox, Nintendo?) that lets you pretend you are playing golf (or bowling or playing tennis) simply by waving a wand at your TV screen. At least that's how we think it works.
Imagine, now you can throw gutter balls right in the comfort of your own home - or take four shots getting out of a sand trap within steps of your recliner. Such bunker magic can make one need a recliner, fast.
The only thing that looks a little iffy to us is jumping over the net in the tennis game. With a vertical leap of approximately two inches, we feel lucky when we don't trip over our slippers.
But, that aside, we are looking forward to an electronics-filled Christmas. Zooming in on maps, shanking electronic golf balls . . . the prospects are dizzying.
We're certain many other households will spend Christmas morning shouting "Fore!" at the TV or having beer frames with the little woman and the dog. Countless wives will be mesmerized by husbands zooming in on Maljamar, N.M., - a little burg that delivered 27 votes to Barack Obama in 2012!
Ah, the wonder of it - true Christmas magic. Now, we have to put this someplace where Santa will read it.
(A version of this editorial has appeared previously in The Maui News.)
* Editorials reflect the opinion of the publisher.
