That some talk about the fast-paced world in which we live today would come as no surprise to most. The pace of life does seem faster now than some years ago, despite so many things in our life that are supposed to save us time.

Consider for example the microwave oven and how it revolutionized cooking for those of us who remember life before microwaves.

Instead of baking a potato in a half hour or more in the oven, a microwave can do it in 10 minutes — though I have to say an oven-baked potato is fluffier and tastes better.

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But now that microwave ovens have sped things up, instead of appreciating the extra time we have, we’re now impatient that the darned microwave takes so long.

We have clocks that automatically reset themselves and keep the correct time. We have automatic timers to turn lights or watering systems or other devices on and off so we don’t have to bother. We have wristwatches that run off batteries that last for years or which get their power from our movement, so we save time on winding them.

We’ve got computers that allow us to do all sorts of tasks so much faster and more efficiently than before.

We’ve got all these timesaving devices that are so common to our lives — and yet we never seem to have enough time.

I heard a preacher talk about this irony of today’s life, how despite having all sorts of things that save us time, all sorts of conveniences — like fast food — we never seem to have enough time.

He shocked me when he held up a box of Pop Tarts and talked about the directions for preparation found on the package.

I’ve not eaten any Pop Tarts in recent years, but have eaten them some years ago. They are a great breakfast convenience item.

Some years ago when I had them, you’d pop them in the toaster, which would brown their pastry-wrapper and warm the fruity filling.

Pop Tarts were about convenience, not nutrition. I’m not sure if they have any natural ingredients. I doubt they have much nutritional value.

If you’re in a rush, you warm up your Pop Tart and have a hot bite to eat before you headed out.

But what shocked me was when the preacher referred to the microwaving directions from a box of Pop Tarts and told how it suggested you microwave the Pop Tart on high, “for three seconds.”

Talk about fast food. Just three seconds?

It’s takes longer to get the Pop Tart out of its package and out of the wrapper than it does to cook it.

And yet we’re always in a rush, and never have enough time.

Then again, consider how people say there’s never anything worth watching on TV, yet with cable or satellite, we have more choices than would have been imaginable 20 years ago.

No doubt modern conveniences have saved us gobs of time, but we’ve simply taken that time to commit it to other purposes.

Three-seconds to heat a Pop Tart?

Don’t believe it when people say they never have enough time.

WILL CHAPMAN is publisher of The Daily Iberian.