So I've marvelled at the changes that technology has wrought. In today's edition, we launch a feature that would not have been possible when I got into this business (indeed, for many years after that.)

Actually, it's not a new feature, per se -- just an update of an existing feature. We are adding sound to "A Day in the Life," our monthly feature in which we put the spotlight on an unsung hero.

To hear the sound, of course, you have to go to our Web site (www.NorthRaleighNews.com). Once there, you will also see a lot more photos than we could run in the newspaper, and they will be in slideshow format.

This month's unsung hero is Hilary Green, the sales manager for ReTails, a North Raleigh thrift store that helps low-income pet owners spay or neuter their animals.

We've had fun with this series -- it has allowed us to get a lot of folks into the paper who, ordinarily, we'd never write about. But these people have stories to tell, and their stories are in some ways a lot more relevant to everyday life than some of the big stories that appear on the front page.

If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well, and since we're bringing you into their lives, we figured: Why not tell these stories as fully as we can, using every available tool?

So, starting this month, whenever we interview subjects for "A Day in the Life," we'll take along a tape recorder so you can hear them as well as see them -- and with the slideshow, you can see a lot more of them. (Some readers may remember that we tried this out in February; now we're ready to move forward with the idea.)

Sam LaGrone -- who in addition to being North Raleigh News' Market Place reporter is somewhat of a technohead-- is the first up at bat. He is also informally leading this effort.

Around the time I was cutting my journalistic teeth, Sam was probably learning to walk. For him, all this technology may be no big deal. But for me, it's quite amazing.

Let me know what you think.