Is there anybody out there?

Is there anybody out there?
By: You Know It's Me	I'm sitting at my computer, trying to do something productive. I was outside earlier, on my front porch playing guitar. I tried to write a song about the interstate freeway that is about 400 feet from my front door. It's always busy, and always making sounds. Whether it is the semi trucks rocking along, or some idiot commuting from the suburbs blaring his horn, or just the incessant throbbing of various motors and tires squealing...when the sound level goes down, you actually wonder whether there's something wrong. I have had this site online for longer than a year. This "book", the inconspicuous megalith has been here and I have recieved all kinds of comments from people who -- and I can understand why -- don't quite "get" it, others think its neat, others hated the frames formatted presentation I had going for awhile. I don't know what I expected; maybe a job offer or two, I mean, in addition to having aspirations to be a publisher I also know a thing or two about unix and windows nt systems. But really, to me computers are just a tool. And the net is simply a medium, albeit a very open and powerful medium, compared to print media or even broadcast tv media. But information doesn't just want to be free; information wants to get paid. I don't want to cheat anyone, but I do need to make a living. Fortunately, I am gainfully employed right now. But what about the future? Will the web flatten organizations, and make our economy more fair and equitable than ever before? Will capital continue to aggregate in corporations and weird investment schemes, instead of in improving neighborhoods, and making access to (at least a base-line) technology more universal? Will people become content creators and sharers, to the detriment of the bottom line of the big huge media companies? Will I be able to at least support myself financially, solely by producing "content" (that's getting to be a scary generic term) or at least administering commercial sites remotely from my home office? We'll see. For now, I'm learning object-oriented programming at IBM. You hear so much on television, or read in magazines, about how the Internet is spewing "dangerous" information all over the minds of kids, as if their minds were incapable of reason or critical thinking. After reading a good article in today's The Netizen about this matter, I have become more and more angry that there are not loud voices proclaiming that the Internet is an information medium. It deserves protection from exploitation for profit, from exploitation for political gain, from scapegoating, and these proclamations should be coming from the talking heads on the televisions (whose very future viability depends on their digitizing their productions!) who keep spreading anti-Internet propaganda. Remember, there are those in the Government who have publicly stated a need to "nip this Internet thing in the bud..." (Sen. James Exon) Does anybody get pissed off that there isn't anyone sitting people like that down in front of a computer and saying "You, as an unskilled computer user, are like a child. Find me some pornography so we can send inflamatory e-mails to the postmasters of the domains hosting that junk!" See, its the conflation of computer naivete and childhood that would surely get them upset. Then when they can barely get logged on, much less find something horribly pornographic without entering a credit card number into some validation form, then they just might get the idea. That government can't make the world absolutely safe for anyone in the real world, much less on the Internet...but at least on the net individuals will be able to communicate their ideas, their purchase orders, and product inquiries, and probably even make friends or keep up with family. And yes, children will learn to avoid pornographic sites -- not because they are simply forbidden by the government (in a free country?) -- but because they will be more interested in conducting positive business online rather than ogling cheesy pictures of naked people. In any case, people shouldn't be shamed about their bodies or their curiosity about others bodies, but they should be encouraged to respect themselves and their friends. But the important distinction to make is blaming the problem (nasty pictures) on the medium. Of course, the First Amendment is intended to protect your right as an American (I say a Human Being!) to express yourself, no matter if what you say is disagreeable to 99% of the population! I could claim to be offended by the Communications Decency Act, declare it obscene, and try to find Exon and his ilk liable for $250,000 fines and jail time for the crime of being "offensive". I mean, hey, I am offended by it -- at least as much as they are about the porno! WRITE ME!!! and tell me what you think! BTW, We went to our second childbirth class last night. We all practiced visualization techniques to promote relaxation, and it really worked! I had been very stressed out from talking to my insurance company about my house that I'm trying to buy. It's a cute house, built in 1956, and I need a homeowner's policy on it by March 21st, 1997. Any takers? In any case, we breathed in all the good things and breathed out all the bad things, like stress and worries, and forced out all the bad through imaginary openings in our bodies' extremities! Try it for yourself. The mind is an amazing thing, but the body is truly a miracle. I can't wait to meet my child.

I'm sitting at my computer, trying to do something productive. I was outside earlier, on my front porch playing guitar. I tried to write a song about the interstate freeway that is about 400 feet from my front door. It's always busy, and always making sounds. Whether it is the semi trucks rocking along, or some idiot commuting from the suburbs blaring his horn, or just the incessant throbbing of various motors and tires squealing...when the sound level goes down, you actually wonder whether there's something wrong.

I have had this site online for longer than a year. This "book", the inconspicuous megalith has been here and I have recieved all kinds of comments from people who -- and I can understand why -- don't quite "get" it, others think its neat, others hated the frames formatted presentation I had going for awhile. I don't know what I expected; maybe a job offer or two, I mean, in addition to having aspirations to be a publisher I also know a thing or two about unix and windows nt systems. But really, to me computers are just a tool. And the net is simply a medium, albeit a very open and powerful medium, compared to print media or even broadcast tv media. But information doesn't just want to be free; information wants to get paid. I don't want to cheat anyone, but I do need to make a living. Fortunately, I am gainfully employed right now.

But what about the future? Will the web flatten organizations, and make our economy more fair and equitable than ever before? Will capital continue to aggregate in corporations and weird investment schemes, instead of in improving neighborhoods, and making access to (at least a base-line) technology more universal? Will people become content creators and sharers, to the detriment of the bottom line of the big huge media companies? Will I be able to at least support myself financially, solely by producing "content" (that's getting to be a scary generic term) or at least administering commercial sites remotely from my home office? We'll see. For now, I'm learning object-oriented programming at IBM.

You hear so much on television, or read in magazines, about how the Internet is spewing "dangerous" information all over the minds of kids, as if their minds were incapable of reason or critical thinking. After reading a good article in today's The Netizen about this matter, I have become more and more angry that there are not loud voices proclaiming that the Internet is an information medium. It deserves protection from exploitation for profit, from exploitation for political gain, from scapegoating, and these proclamations should be coming from the talking heads on the televisions (whose very future viability depends on their digitizing their productions!) who keep spreading anti-Internet propaganda. Remember, there are those in the Government who have publicly stated a need to "nip this Internet thing in the bud..." (Sen. James Exon)

Does anybody get pissed off that there isn't anyone sitting people like that down in front of a computer and saying "You, as an unskilled computer user, are like a child. Find me some pornography so we can send inflamatory e-mails to the postmasters of the domains hosting that junk!" See, its the conflation of computer naivete and childhood that would surely get them upset. Then when they can barely get logged on, much less find something horribly pornographic without entering a credit card number into some validation form, then they just might get the idea. That government can't make the world absolutely safe for anyone in the real world, much less on the Internet...but at least on the net individuals will be able to communicate their ideas, their purchase orders, and product inquiries, and probably even make friends or keep up with family. And yes, children will learn to avoid pornographic sites -- not because they are simply forbidden by the government (in a free country?) -- but because they will be more interested in conducting positive business online rather than ogling cheesy pictures of naked people. In any case, people shouldn't be shamed about their bodies or their curiosity about others bodies, but they should be encouraged to respect themselves and their friends. But the important distinction to make is blaming the problem (nasty pictures) on the medium.

Of course, the First Amendment is intended to protect your right as an American (I say a Human Being!) to express yourself, no matter if what you say is disagreeable to 99% of the population! I could claim to be offended by the Communications Decency Act, declare it obscene, and try to find Exon and his ilk liable for $250,000 fines and jail time for the crime of being "offensive". I mean, hey, I am offended by it -- at least as much as they are about the porno!

WRITE ME!!! and tell me what you think!

BTW,

We went to our second childbirth class last night. We all practiced visualization techniques to promote relaxation, and it really worked! I had been very stressed out from talking to my insurance company about my house that I'm trying to buy. It's a cute house, built in 1956, and I need a homeowner's policy on it by March 21st, 1997. Any takers? In any case, we breathed in all the good things and breathed out all the bad things, like stress and worries, and forced out all the bad through imaginary openings in our bodies' extremities! Try it for yourself. The mind is an amazing thing, but the body is truly a miracle.

I can't wait to meet my child.