These are my two step-daughers, Maddie (left), 13, and Chloe, 16.

Like me, their Dad and two brothers, we're all fairly early adopters of technology. Yet, I'm typically the one in the family who insists the kids unplug from iPods, PSPs, other digital devices -- especially when we're all out in the world together, about to share a common experience.

("No, Clay, you may not play a game on my mobile phone at the table while we wait for the Indian food.")

My hope -- and I've seen this actually does work -- is that if all six of us simultaneously share common white space, we end up goofing around or having some really great face-to-face family conversations that don't easily occur at home, back in our routines when we're all coming and going at different times.

While my occasional urging of everyone to unplug sometimes causes family tension, it's also a source of humor:

This photo was taken when the girls were hanging out June 30th, on the lawn at Bethel Woods, a magical new outdoor concert venue built on the site of 1969's Woodstock. In moments, Bob Dylan will take the stage, his first return to the site since the famed show nearly 40 years ago. And when he does, Maddie, joking and smiling, turns to me: "Why is he playing so loudly? I can barely hear my iPod!!"