"It's like the stone age or something:"

So I asked a professor for a recommendation about six weeks ago. He had plenty of time to write it, especially since he had a letter on file for me, since it's not really due till next month (of course I didn't tell him that. I told him it was due April 15 to give him some time to be late). Fast-forward to last week when I discover that the letter isn't in yet. I know I have to go talk to him, but he doesn't check his email. Or possibly (our theory) he checks his email but does not act on it in any way. Ultimately, it doesn't matter. So I can't just email him and be like "yo, dude, can you check on this?" (though if you know who I'm talking about, you have to admit that that would be really amusing). It takes me a week to find him, but I finally track him down today. He said he'd check with the secretary, but that he had given her the address and the letter. So I gave him another envelope and crossed my fingers.

But this would have been so much easier with email.