| << Back 1/26/05 Recommended diversions SMN The Age of Missing Information To research this 1992 book, Bill McKibben watched more than 1,700 hours of
cable television — every single minute of programming offered
by the 93-channel Fairfax County cable system on May 3, 1990, from
MTV to McHale’s Navy to Super Sloppy Double Dare. He compared
that experience with 24 hours spent alone atop a local mountain.
In The Age of Missing Information he writes of what he learned:
that aesthetics still trump consumption, that the Information Age
has its cost, and that the real world ain’t on television
at all. Rope Burns With Clint Eastwood’s boxing pic “Million Dollar Baby” making
a splash on the awards circuit, it’s a good time to go back
to the source — a short story by former cutman F.X. Toole,
found in his 2001 debut Rope Burns. In “Million $$$ Baby”
and five other stories, Toole delivers the triumph and desolation
of the boxing life with all the gritty authority of one who’s
been there. Not every punch hits home, but those that do hit hard.
Mozilla Firefox 1.0 CNET.com has just named 2005 “The Year of Firefox,” calling Mozilla’s
new Internet browser “a safer, better choice” than Internet
Explorer. Geeks and rebels love it because it provides an open-source
alternative to the proprietary culture of corporate behemoth Microsoft,
while everyday users are impressed with its efficiency and security.
I switched two weeks ago and it’s passed my litmus test: I
don’t notice it. Ever. Download it free from download.com
or mozilla.com, and give it a digital spin. CNET.com I’m not a techie, geek, or gadget hound. I don’t know Wi-Fi from
.wav, shudder at spyware, and have no idea how many megapixels you
want when you’re taking a dozen digital stills of your pet
schnauzer. That’s all the more reason to recommend CNET.com,
the website I turn to for product reviews, comparison pricing, and
cogent advice whenever I’m in the market for anything that
beeps, blips, or blinks. I don’t know nothin’... but
they do, and that’s good enough for me. Chopping Wood After two recommending two books, a browser, and a website, it’s high time I recommend you also get up off your ass, and go outside and make yourself useful. Chop a little wood, my friend: split some sticks for the woodburning stove. Veteran ax-handlers agree: there’s no better feeling than a hand-held maul, two sore shoulders, and a stack of fresh-cut hardwood. Hiiii-ya! — by Jay Hardwig |
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