Of e-mail, blogging, IM, and other networked things
Mike just e-mailed:

"Thank heaven for e-mail!"

Hear, Hear!

Do you remember the pre-Internet world? It's hard -- but think back.

Sure, I kept in touch with my distant friends as well as I could. But before e-mail became so pervasive, we had to write letters, mail them, wait for someone to respond -- conversations just couldn't happen.

Nowadays, if one of us is having a particularly tough day, it's so easy and quick to get some support and advice. If we used Instant Messaging it would be even quicker, but I think maybe we appreciate the thought which goes into composing a response rather than simply responding. Besides, IM technology is not nearly as compatible as e-mail.

In any case, on this, Syttende Mai, I concur with my esteemed colleague from Seattle:

"Thank heaven for e-mail!"






[Now, where are the e-mail addresses of my Norwegian relatives, so I can send them greetings? Oh yeah, on that crashed hard-drive..... Well, technology still has some problems.....]