Turns it does

I wrote a whole post today, had about an hour's worth of phone calls, and realized that the post was absolute garbage. Actually, I knew it was garbage while I was writing it, I just wanted to slip in the phone calls. Be that as it may, I really don't have patience to write anything else, so I guess you'll just have to suffer. With an approbation like that, who wouldn't?
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The following is the type of self-reflective post that comes from listening to too much of MBD's Efshar Letaken. A fine song to be sure, and parts of which I sing in zal at least once a day (ki im atah maamin she'efshar l'kalkel vadai she'efshar letaken) but not necessarily the best inspiration for a post. Anyway, enjoy...

There's something so 1996 about checking your email once a day. Actually, I didn't even have email back then. I think I got my first email address when I was in sixth grade, a hotmail account, but though I could remember the password I couldn't recall my username, so I never actually used it. About a year later AOL changed their policy to allow five email addresses per account, or something like that, and I finally gained access to the world wide web. Of course no one ever actually emailed me, and I really didn't have anyone to email. I never even got any spam!
I used to go around finding interesting-looking email newsletters to join, and so the NY Times, Jewish joke a day, and the Packers weekly email were the highlights of my inbox. Plus about seventeen emails a day from chabad.org. But those I never read.

My web viewing was similarly limited. I never really used any of AOL's many features (except to follow Twins and Brewers games) and-you know what? This seems like a good place to segue a bit. AOL used to have this great little screen, text only, that told you only the most basic information about a ball game. It was a bit like a mini box score. And you could have as many of them open at one time as you wanted. I was really disappointed when they replaced it with a graphic monstrosity which only allowed for one game at a time, and unlike the text variant wasn't in almost-realtime. Oh well, I guess you can't stop progress.

The most interesting site I used to visit was probably As The Apple Turns (you'll have to excuse my lack of hyperlinks, but I'm on an iPod after all...) an Apple computer rumor site that didn't take itself too seriously. I once wrote some poetry for them that was kind of cute, and of course they took care of my Apple fix. You see, back in the day I was positively obsessed with Apple. I pined for an iMac for weeks, and when our shiny bondi blue revision A beauty came on shabbos afternoon I was deliriously joyous. Or joyously delirious. One of the two. Or possibly both. Maybe I'll make a poll about it.
Yeah, I used to love them Apples. In days gone by I vowed that in my house no PC would ever be found, and prostylized (sorry 'bout that) to all the neighboring folks. Now I've grown a bit and realize that although uncle Steve is all kind and beneficient it's not necessarily necessary for me to have one of his products. Sure, it would be great, but if finances do not allow then what's to be done?

Any other sites? Hmm. Boeing.com I visited on a constant basis, because like all good boys I loved airplanes. Not Airbus, chas v'shalom, because I could never stomach the thought of supporting a socialist-produced people mover. No, it was Boeing all the way for me. I used to spend hours working on my Boeing encyclopedia, but I gave up once they merged with MD because that would have meant a lot of
updating.
My favorite airplane? The 757. You look at it while your standing on the ground, in front of the nose, at about a 30 degree angle...gorgeous. I'm not kidding. Such strict lines, such equanimius pose, uch man, my heart beats fast at the thought.

And I think that may have been about it. Most of my news came from NPR, and what else was there for a kid to look at? Oh yeah, I checked the Packers site every day. But otherwise? I mean, I wasn't even using google yet! The big thing was metacrawler. Yup, I feel like Arnold Fine. That is not a good thing.

Oh right, the inspiration for this post is my only being able to check my mail once a day. Unlike in 1996, this isn't it's hard to get away with. Aside from all the urgent emails I daily receive from heads of state (something about a Nigerian prince or something? [who knew they had princes in Nigeria?]) there's also the issue of having to deal with fifty or sixty missives in the extreme cold that is early March 2009. But I guess I'll get over it. Do I have a choice?

Oh yeah, one more thing. Today's the sixth anniversary of my diary. That's pretty crazy, no? My whole life laid bare, accessible to anyone
who can read the writing of my hand (not me). Six years is a long time. Wow. I'm inspired by myself. Imagine if I had pledged to do something worthwhile with all that time! But I suppose it was time well spent. My heirs will have something to support themselves with when I've passed on to the great Pizza Time (or Sprinkles if you prefer icecream) in the sky.