Quote:
Originally Posted by herr_oberst
At first blush, yes, the internet is working for me. The university of YouTube is a revelation, for example, as is the ability to access and read all the information in the world, from a discussion of the Dead Sea Scrolls to the Webb Telescope, and draw as much knowledge as I want from these and an endless number of interesting topics. Plus, instant access to any sports and racing teams or series that I like to follow, or to listen to seemingly every piece of recorded music with a few keystrokes? Genius!
But if I examine the quality of my internet use on a granular level, the algorithms are getting scary-smart, and true to form, my attention span is diminishing and more and more I use the internet as filler during my downtime, with the result being that my 'downtime' expands and the tangible projects that need doing or could be making real improvements to my life aren't getting attention as they need, so in that regard, no. It becomes a substitute for life.
Everything in moderation, as the old saying goes, but the internet is diabolical and knows how to draw me in and take too much of my time when I should be 'gettin 'er done" now that I'm retired and my time is my time.
|
Well said, Herr Oberst and echoes much of my sentiment, as well.
-----------------
Kurt Vonnegut tells his wife he's going out to buy an envelope:
“Oh, she says, well, you're not a poor man. You know, why don't you go online and buy a hundred envelopes and put them in the closet?"
And so I pretend not to hear her. And go out to get an envelope because I'm going to have a hell of a good time in the process of buying one envelope.
I meet a lot of people. And see some great looking babies. And a fire engine goes by. And I give them the thumbs up. And I'll ask a woman what kind of dog that is. And, and I don't know.
The moral of the story is - we're here on Earth to fart around.
And, of course, the computers will do us out of that. And what the computer people don't realize, or they don't care, is we're dancing animals. You know, we love to move around. And it's like we're not supposed to dance at all anymore.
Let's all get up and move around a bit right now... or at least dance.