Hi Teo.
Wasn't the campaign slogan for a South African candidate "Why Botha?" The French have an expression Sans Souci. It means "without a care."
I think there is a difference. I discovered when I went to NY a year ago Christmas that no one knew when I was coming, because allegedly I had not written.
It happens I have more than one e mail address, and my alternate address was automatically categorized as spam on mother's browser.
I don't take it any more personally than she took the thought that I hadn't written - probably less. I figure most people who own computers use them basically for word processing and as a sort of extension to their telephone service that gives them an electronic yellow pages and some goofy fun and information from the informative and the whacky alike.
Publishers still sell us books. They don't give away the content. You can find any book you're looking for online, but you'll have to buy it.
We are not at that time when you can pay your phone bill and all the royalties will be paid to whomever it may concern so they get recognition of their intellectual property. Then why not just print out any book you want that's listed at the Library of Congress?
We fight against new tech for awhile. There was good reason people walking on dirt roads told the early owners of cars to "get a horse!"
Keep it in mind that the actual Luddites were rather revolutionary. They were the first to introduce the practice of the industrial strike.
Luddite as a term has taken on the meaning that someone who is a Luddite is a person who hates technology and would prefer not to be replaced by a machine.
My mother will write a handwritten letter as if to say that she doesn't think e mail is a legitimate way to communicate. She's wrong, of course, and she is a bit of a Luddite for that reason. Still, I do appreciate her efforts to send my something on paper even if I decry the destruction of the rainforests and how casual we are about the use of paper.
There is an argument that a computer and all its components represent a huge dose of toxicity visited on the environment. I'm certain it's true. On the other hand the complaint about computers from the people who make and sell them is that they last too long. Not enough of the whole crowd needs the latest and the greatest when what they have works fine.
So they work the "cutting edge" folks and make them keep changing both the hardware and software platforms to force them to keep upgrading. They use trickery to make you think your bare bones rig will do everything including the dishes and laundry.
The popping of the "bubble" has put an end to that pace of technolgical hype, and that is a good thing. The computer is not a mere typwriter, telephone or amusement park concession and penny arcade, but is an artist's palette and a publishers central design facility - and that's big.
We only use ten percent of our brain most of the time. The metaphor holds true both for our computers and our minds. We also tend only to use ten percent of our imaginations. To use more of our imaginations probably doesn't require using that much more of our brains. Probably it helps to have a cup of coffee but not too many.
Unfortunately adding RAM to the neurological circuits can only be accomplished by an exercise of the will. We can't just open up the tops of our heads and insert a chip.
To some degree it is about wattage. To a greater extent it's about "what-age" - if you know what I mean.
Sans souci is good. Apathy is another matter. I can surely relate to realizing that I have just chucked my inbox thinking I was chucking my spambox. I recently put a filter on my incoming that puts certain subjects or lack thereof into the garbage. I still have to remember to look because Yahoo provides a nice little "empty" button that's easy to poke without realizing some friend my through some bizarre coincidence used a word like "mortgage" or "viagra" in their e mail heading. (Not bloody likelyn - but it's possible).
It's a fact that if it is important enough. You'll hear from that person either by phone or snail mail, or you'll get another e mail.
No use crying over spilled milk or irretrievable files. I have my mailboxes duplicated so it's rather hard to get rid of my incoming by accident. I've done it though. It can be done. Anybody can do it.
Nobody for President! Nobody's perfect.
Sans souci.
NB in 'zerkeley
When it comes to BOTHERZILLA things like emails or phone messages, it seems more safe for the sanity and mental peace to "shoot first" or at least not take every stupid telebarketing as a personal insult or theft of my precious time and space. 
all the BOTHERZILLA things.
about anything at the moment.
