Don those Sherlock Holmes hats, reach out for the somewhat impractical magnifying glass, unleash the beagles – or are they bloodhounds? – for we have a problem to solve.

While technology may have made our lives simpler, easier and quicker, it has in fact stolen, that’s right, I shall be so bold as to declare, technology has indeed stolen something from us. We so unwittingly sat back while the technology Fagin and his army of urchins ever so delicately pick-pocketed from us the lifestyle we once knew. He left us dazed, confused and somewhat poorer, standing there in the modern streetscape yearning for the time not so long ago when life was like a Jane Austen novel: lots of tweed jackets and the longing sense for greener pastures.

For some, Wuthering Heights may well be a tale of two ill-fated lovers. Others know of it as that Kate Bush song and well, the rest of us just think of that amazing Peter’s Ice Cream advertisement. Yet this just goes to prove my point about technology. Sure white rabbits in waist coats checking the time are intriguing to watch as they race by, however, should we really so flippantly follow them down that rabbit hole?

Sometimes we integrate technology so readily in our lives that we forget life can be a little bit more exciting without it. However, once in a while, it is actually good to delve deep into that old sea chest, pull out a map and set out on a journey of discovery looking for Treasure Island.

You see, and as shocking as this may sound, I much prefer the good old days, when life was not about the film adaptation or audio cassette. When reading English literature was not calling up the plot summary on Wikipedia but rather leisurely thumbing through yellowing pages, losing yourself to the unfolding adventure.

All this brings me so ever poignantly to street directories. These days they are now second thought to the quick online map search or GPS device in your car. Surely the technology guys are itching for me to tell you how wonderful Whereis (www.whereis.com) maps is – and I do agree it is a powerful tool. It is also amazing how you can call up your location and a map on your Next G™ mobile to find out where you are and even get directions to where you need to go.

But forget that I say! There is no adventure in that. There’s hardly no excitement. Yes it is ridiculously convenient but it is far too simple these days to program in your destination and let the GPS device tell you where to go. What happened to the sense of the journey when you pulled the UBD out from the car and plotted your trip? You know what I mean.

Think back to Saturday nights long ago when you arranged to pick up your date for the first time. Sure the scary part was dad as he answered the door, however, remember flicking through the street directory, madly trying to burn each street name, major road and directions into your mind. And then, three quarters of the way there, having to pull over and work out where you are, madly trying to work out if you are lost and whether you should have turned right back at the last intersection. There was not GPS telling you where to be.

There was no mobile phone you could load a map on. No, there was just the street directory, a heartbeat racing against nerves and time and of course the thrill of the journey.

When I first moved interstate, there was nothing more terrifying than having to drive to somewhere not knowing how to really travel there. But I did not rely on technology to tell me where to go. No, it was the humble UBD that was my guide. And with that street directory it took me on many great adventures. There was some satisfying pleasure in becoming lost, discovering you had made a wrong turn. Where is the excitement of counting down the cross-streets before having to turn? Where is thrill of trying to read the street signs hoping to have enough time before madly hooking a last-second right turn? This is what has been so blatantly removed from our lives. This is what technology has stolen from us.

Imagine how boring Treasure Island would be these days if Robert Louis Stevenson had his Jim Hawkins program a GPS, grab a satellite phone and blog his journey online. Where’s the adventure in that? Well, there is none and dear readers that is my point.

Some may argue technology has improved the journey. Others could well say it is convenient. Sure, the only nagging voice in the car these days is the GPS. However, life has become somewhat stagnant and stale. For the most part, my colleagues in Sensis may well be the leading provider of digital mapping and directions in this country, however, dare I say ironically, they still print humble street directories and maps for a reason. I so boldly declare that reason is elementary: sometimes we just love the thrill of adventure.