Deeper understanding

[MTARR@EAGLE.WESLEYAN.EDU]

Hi!
 
Oh KaTe, glorious KaTe, we beseech thee, end our suffering and
deliver unto us a new album to sate our souls for the next
decade, and bring with it a divine Tour to solidify our somewhat
lapsed belief that You Really Are, sometime within the span of
our current incarnations.  We ask this in high fidelity, Amen.
 
That said...
 
Jessica brought up a wonderful point about computer interaction
in the "Deeper Understanding" discussion.  Right now I am sitting
physically alone in my room in an empty apartment.  Yet all I
have to do is turn my computer on, dial a number, and I'm hanging
out in a room with about 50 of my closest friends, reading mail
and corresponding with people literally spanning the globe,
getting to know them from the inside out, so when I do finally
meet them in person it's just adding another dimension to our
relationship.  That's about as far from "cold" and "impersonal"
as you can get!
 
It is true that those people who don't do this don't understand-
I should be keeping a running tally of how many blank stares I've
gotten when I've tried to explain just hoe I've met all these
whacked people, and why I've gone to Boston and London for
weekends to have fun with scads of friends I've never met.  The
net has given me more than an expanded knowledge of the things 
I'm interested in, it's given me some very special friends and
the most important person in my life. (Not to mention the amazing
typing speed that got me the job I have now...) I hope the day
comes soon when everyone in the world can be connected like this-
I think there will be a lot fewer physical wars.  (All you'll
need is a good flamethrower! :)
 
Does anyone out there know who invented the modem?  Who thought
up the Internet?  If there is a reference source for this, would
someone please point me to it?  I'm interested in how this whole
thing got started as a point of history.
 
Ob Peter Gabriel's visit to the MIT Media Lab- since the guys who
were there aren't talking, I'll point you all to Page 53 of the
current issue of DISCOVER Magazine.  The reason he was there is
on the lower right.  (It's a good article, so read it if you get
the chance.)
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Meredith Tarr		                               m.tarr1@genie.geis.com
America can't survive another four years...  fight the idiocy on November 3rd
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