Copyright © 1998 Henrietta W. Hay
Come Into my Web, Said the Spider to the Fly . . .
May 29,1998
Everyone who has had little boys around the house has been tugged and
pulled with the pleas, "I want to see that." "Let's go see what is
over there," And you try to go where you are pulled within the limits
of your aging bones.
Son Dave was an explorer from early childhood. There is probably not a
square yard of north First street that did not have his footprints.
The Monument and the Bookcliffs did not escape his investigation.
There was a period in his twenties when he hitch- hiked around eastern
Europe with practically no money, and had adventures I only learned
about later. Thank goodness. When he spent six months in Bahrain I
just sat back and relaxed.
Now he has reached middle age and he is still doing it. "Hey mom,
let's explore the Internet," Now here was one I could manage. I
realized that this was a major exploration that I could share with him
sitting down in my own office. So my Mac and I followed him onto the
World Wide Web.
Possibly the most profound change in the intellectual landscape in
centuries is the advent of the World Wide Web. Suddenly we have at our
fingertips a library that is many times the size of the largest
libraries the world has ever known. It multiplies the dissemination
of information as much as the Gutenberg printing press did five
centuries ago. Of course a lot of the information we didn't ever want
to know anyway, and certainly not all of it (could we say not much of
it?) is intellectually uplifting. Still, the extent to which useful
information is available is mind boggling.
The world is at my command and yours. I can go anywhere just by
pressing a few keys -- if I'm not in a hurry. It does require patience.
Would you like to see Venus de Milo in the Louvre without going to
Paris? Easy. Type in --
http://www.atlcom.net/~psmith/Louvre/Louvre_art.html ~#venus
Interested in seeing pictures of the ancient city of Kaunas? Never
heard of it? Wonder where it is? Check out
http://www1.omnitel.net/kaunas
Remember the seven logic fallacies we learned once? If by any chance
you still care, you can refresh your memory with
http://www-home.calumet.yorku.ca/cc1900/gen1900/www/logic.htm
Oops. There are only four.
Or if you are looking for something more frivolous, and are addicted to
oreo cookies be sure not to miss
http://www.oreo.com
I have been
practicing the Oreo Flip and will be glad to challenge any of my readers
to a contest.
If you are really into Dull, there is
http://www.census.gov/statab/www/
That contains that popular federal government document, the Statistical
Abstract.
Closer to home, I needed the text of a bill from the last Legislative
session. I found it at
http://www.state.co.us/gov_dir/stateleg.html
And then there is the fun of giving information instead of taking it.
Son Dave has a small consulting firm and has created a web page to
advertise his wares
http://www.essentialstrategies.com
He describes his professional
services, including technical articles he has written, and also the articles he has written on his many travels.
One day on the phone (land line, no computer) I mentioned casually that
it would be fun to have a home page. Two days later he called me and
said that now I have one all my own, a link from his, and he records my
columns on it.
Uncounted numbers of college kids have established web sites which are
amazing to behold. Seeing their flights of fancy, one wonders about the
future of civilization, but I have high hopes. Ian, my Colorado College
grandson, has a site (
http://rikki.cc.colorado.edu/~i_hay) with a
front page that waves like a creature from outer space. Ah, youth.
Following Dave onto the Web has been an exciting and continuing
adventure. Constant e-mail communication with him is an extra bonus.
With all that information out there it is getting harder and harder to
stay ignorant. But I have one piece of advice, son. Don't throw away
your World Almanac. The Book is here to stay.