[PLUG-TALK] Bitching.

gepr at tempusdictum.com gepr at tempusdictum.com
Mon Feb 16 23:43:22 UTC 2004


Paul Johnson writes:
 > I'd jump on simply because it's Verizon.  I don't have kind feelings
 > for Qwest, either, which is why I switched to Vonage last year.

Well, there are lots of corporeal bodies (people, LLPs, and corporations)
that I have no kind feelings for.  But, I'm not going to punch them in 
the mouth when I see them on the streets, either.

 > >  > > The very _idea_ that some people consider a fibre optic infrastructure
 > >  > > _infrastructure_ is apalling.
 > >  > 
 > >  > Without that infrastructure, I don't get a dialtone.  It's a basic
 > >  > service at this point, and Canada did the right thing 5 or 6 years ago
 > >  > declaring internet access an essential utility.
 > > 
 > > I disagree.  The internet doesn't really help us live better lives.
 > 
 > OK, if you want to go back to not being able to get money from your bank
 > at 6PM on a Friday at some bank you've never heard of in a city
 > thousands of miles from home, make cheap phone calls, or be able to
 > boycott the postal service for favoring spammers, go right ahead.

I didn't say that I would prefer to live the life of the average human
on this earth (which means no internet).  What I said was that it's
_not_ infrastructure any more than cigarrettes or blues bands are 
infrastructure.  It's a luxury available to those of us who are wealthy
enough to afford it.  I like it just like I like my pick-up truck and
the readily available fossile fuel that drives it.

-- 
glen e. p. ropella              =><=                           Hail Eris!
H: 503.630.4505                              http://www.ropella.net/~gepr
M: 971.219.3846                               http://www.tempusdictum.com





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