Cranial Flatulence

What has happened to me?

When I was in High School (about 20 years ago), I was a sponge. I used to read computer programming books from cover to cover, without pausing, and comprehend them - all without having a computer to practice on. I easily learned the difference between BNC, RF and RCA connectors. Before I was 17, I knew four different programming languages (all of the wrong ones, mind you). When we would get new electronics in the house, my dad would unpack them and hand me the instruction manual to read while he connected it (he still does this). I learned how to build a computer from the ground up before I was 21 and actually understood what all of the different cards and slots were for.

Now, I can't get past page five in a textbook or programming manual without falling asleep. I can't seem to absorb a new skill without actually doing it. My skills in Pascal and COBOL have atrophied, although most of the BASIC is still with me. My mind seems clouded and dull most of the time and I have trouble recalling details of events that were significant in my life (not enough to worry me).

Is this normal or have I just gone mentally soft? Am I to blame or is it because I've spent almost as much of my life in front of a television as I have sleeping?

You may have heard the saying that when we stop learning, we stop growing. I'm not up on the current trends, acronyms or operations but sling me back 10 or 15 years and I was on top of it all. When did I stop learning and become an anachronism?

I gotta go open my mind and learn something new. Not just learn about something new... I need to grok something.