When the Internet reached our home.

I found this letter I wrote to my dad on November 14, 1994.
The Internet had been opened to the public and I was waiting for my first email address.
So I was trying to explain it all to him.

I was in London Ont. (via the computer modem over the Internet) this morning. Here in Winnipeg last week the Winnipeg Blue Sky Freenet began business. It's a non-profit organization that was set up to give the people of Winnipeg a doorway into parts of the internet, as well as info on Wpg, libraries, magazines, news, etc. I have been all over the world through it already, and it's just a local call. I have sent in my registration so I'm expecting a Electronic Mailbox address soon, then I can write a few friends around the world, with just a local phone call.
As I was saying, I was in London this morning. They are planning and setting up a simular freenet for 5 counties around London, including Elgin. I read through their business plan etc. and they want to set it up for the rural & urban areas around London, St. Thomas, etc. so that anyone in that area can make a local call which would plug them into the London Freenet and through that "port" to the world via the Internet. They are looking at a registration fee of about $25 I believe. Then you get an electronic mailbox and full access to the other things.
Yesterday I was reading the church times and places from St. Petersburg Russia, then the news from the BBC in London England, then checked the weather in your town, and Lauraleas parents town from the weather service in Halifax, etc. It's quite fun to hop around with such ease. 

Wow.  Fresh and exciting and very new.
I had been considering joining CompuServe or America Online but I decided to wait a bit for this Internet to arrive. And now I have it all on a small device I carry around.

Our Micah was born that year. So that he and mostly all our kids don't know what its like to live without the worlds information in your hands.

I used to have to call my brother and ask him, "Hey what song is this?" and hum a few bars and he'd tell me.  Now I've got the Internet.

The Way it Feels Today.

You voted for the blues last night?

To those of you who voted for the Conservatives last night, especially those who live in the part of Canada where I live, that big blue area.

Last night the blues didn't win, and that's ok.

It's ok because you live in a world where you have a say in these matters. It's ok because you live in a place where you are not killed in the streets because you voted blue or they voted red.

It's ok because the blues have had a good opportunity for the last ten years, to do good work. And now its the reds turn.

It's ok because the leader of the blues, Stephen Harper, led by example last night when he said:

"...our country is one of the most enduring democracies in the world today. And today, for the 42nd time in 148 years, Canadians have chosen a national parliament. While tonight’s result is certainly not the one we had hoped for, the people are never wrong.  The Canadian population has elected a Liberal government, a result we accept without hesitation. "

The test of a man isn't shown when he wins but when he loses. And last night the leader of the blues tested well.

So for those who voted blue, today the reputation of the blues can be diminished with critical shots and personal insults, either in person or on twitter and Facebook.

Or cues can be taken from the leader of the Conservatives who was gracious, and we can celebrate this democracy of ours. Celebrate the past ten years. Celebrate that the next generation is stepping up to have a go at leading this nation. Celebrate and dance in the streets that no one was killed and shot down because of this process.

There are many good things to celebrate this morning.
So find good, affirm truth, search for the noble, the pure, the lovely, bless what is excellent and think about these things today.

You Might Be a Redneck This Thanksgiving If…

You Might Be a Redneck This Thanksgiving If…

… you’ve ever had Thanksgiving dinner on a ping-pong table.

… Thanksgiving dinner is squirrel and dumplings.

… you’ve ever reused a paper plate.

… if you have a complete set of salad bowls and they all say Cool Whip on the side.

… if you’ve ever used your ironing board as a buffet table.

… your turkey platter is an old hubcap.

… your best dishes have Dixie printed on them.

… your stuffing’s secret ingredient comes from the bait shop.

… your only condiment on the dining room table is ketchup.

… side dishes include beef jerky and Moon Pies.

… you have to go outside to get something out of the ‘fridge.

… the directions to your house include “turn off the paved road.”

… you consider pork and beans to be a gourmet food.

… you have an Elvis Jell-o mold.

… your secret family recipe is illegal.

… you serve Vienna sausage as an appetizer.



via.