Now this thought may have been beaten to death already. I don't know, maybe I missed it. But here is a question that "I" think most people never think about.
We use it, connect to it, surf it, know (kind of) what it is, but...exactly where is the internet?
It's out there. We know that. People can tell us how it works. But in the vast expanse of "ether", where is it kept for us to use?
Think about that. Not on a local level -"Oh, my cable company has it...my DSL provider...my phone company..." Think global.
If you knock out a bunch of the mainframes and servers routing the whole mess, would it go away? No.
OK. So. Where is it?
Curious now, aren't we.
...oh for goodness sake do I have to explain everything to you?...
...right, there are three stages of learning - concrete, iconic and symbolic...concrete means you have to have it in your hands (a keyboard), iconic means you understand pictures (your monitor), symbolic means it is a concept (the internet)...the internet doesn't actually exist - it's a lie to explain government spending, as in : what did the govt. spend my taxes on this year?...organising the 'net, connecting people to the 'net, passing laws about the 'net...it doesn't exist!!!...
...however, because I like you I will tell you how to find it :^)...first crawl into one of your socks, then get your wife to put you in the washing machine (still in the sock), stay in the sock through a *whole* wash cycle (preferably non-colourfast-cotton)...if you are lucky the sock you are in will disappear through the cracks of normality and escape to the world-of-lost-socks...once there, leave the sock - run past the-world-of-lost-keys, ignore the-world-of-this-season-my-team-will-win and head straight for the-world-of-government-expenditure (this might be called the-world-of-lies on old atlases)...on the left (just past free-health-care but before the-electric-car) you should find the internet...enjoy it, I here they serve a decent cup of coffee in the internet cafe :^)...
Posted by: billy | December 02, 2003 at 12:14 PM
Ah, billy. It is always refreshing to get a simple explaination to a tricky question. Thank you. *someone get the butterfly net...I think we have him cornered*
Posted by: Wichi Dude | December 02, 2003 at 06:51 PM
Billy's explaination fits as well as anything else I've heard. Now that I know where all the lost socks are (is lost underwear in the same general area?), maybe I can get WS to volunteer in retrieving them. I just have to make sure he stays away from the Internet, because he would probably break it!
Posted by: bogie | December 02, 2003 at 10:46 PM
You know, I always thought the dryer ate the socks. The lint trap was to catch the remains for a proper burial.
Posted by: Wichi Dude | December 03, 2003 at 04:49 AM
Thanks for the lucidity, Billy. As my Hunky Husband would ask, "What color is the sky in your world, Billy?"
Posted by: Cop Car | December 03, 2003 at 07:08 AM
...dunno what colour the sky is - they don't let me out of my box during daylight hours :^)...
Posted by: billy | December 03, 2003 at 09:23 AM
A wise thing, you might see your shadow and then winter would last longer. (It's a colony thing.)
Posted by: Wichi Dude | December 03, 2003 at 04:06 PM
It can't be the dryer that eats socks (although that is a common misconception). We are missing socks on a regular basis and we only have a washer, not a dryer.
Posted by: bogie | December 03, 2003 at 11:58 PM
Gotta be the spin cycle messing with the space-time continuum thing.
Posted by: Wichi Dude | December 04, 2003 at 04:31 AM
...try changing your dylithium crystals cap'in :^)...
Posted by: billy | December 04, 2003 at 04:41 AM