Why I Went All "Minty"

An interesting story.

On Friday I shutdown my laptop cleanly, packed it up, and put it in the car. I drove home and left it in the trunk all weekend. I came into work on Monday and brought my laptop bag in. I unpacked my laptop, docked it, and fired it up.

No display.

It booted, I heard the music, it should have been at the login display, but there was nothing but a blank screen and the monitor gave me that all knowing "there is no cable" kind of thing and went to sleep.

I could not even get a ctl-alt-f1 terminal. I tried booting up in and out of dock, normal mode, single user mode, recovery mode. I even tried it standing on one foot with a flag in my hand. But all I ever got was a whole lot of blankness.

So once I booted into single mode and was at a terminal, I started my investigations.

In the interest of brevity, I will speed this story up.

I messed around with the laptop for hours on Monday, no display. I had been running Ubuntu 10.04 so I did an upgrade to 10.10 hoping that would restore some order. During that time I ended up using my personal laptop (also running Ubuntu 10.10) to SSH onto the build servers to keep working. Tuesday morning, I managed to get the laptop working in the wrong display mode using the VESA display driver after much futzing around. I used that opportunity to back up everything in preparation for a reload.

Now before I reloaded, I was going through the Xorg.0.log files to see what was going on. Since I really didn't understand the process, some things did not make sense at first, but after 2 days of it, they started to.

So this is my guess as to what happened...

Last week I took some updates from Ubuntu. I thought I rebooted, but maybe I had not. Anyway, the Xorg.0.log was showing 2 video drivers vying for resources, the nv driver and the nouveau driver. I had been using the nv driver and I don't recall loading the nouveau driver and I think this may have somehow come in with the update I took. If not, I am at a loss as to how it got there.

So once the nouveau driver got installed, it would grab something the nv driver needed but nouveau had no clue what to do. And since nv couldn't grab the resources, it simply quit. Hence, I had no working display driver. At least this was my understanding from the log files.

It was at this point I knew I really needed to reload everything as I did not want to sort out this mess.

So I took my CD with 64-bit Mint 10 and installed it. I booted up and read "32-bit" once I logged in. Aw crap! So I go back and download the actual 64-bit Mint 10 DVD this time, and installed the real 64-bit Mint.

I decided since the day was blown anyway I might as well try and get the Nvidia driver working to get 3D acceleration. 

Everything went exceedingly smooth except no display. For an hour and a half I wrangled with Nvidia and Googled like mad. Then I had an epiphany as I sat staring at my sleeping external monitor. I popped the lid of the docked laptop and saw the login display patiently waiting. 

Palm to the face!

I think that it had been there since the first load of the Nvidia driver. 

Ok, stop right there. I know what you are thinking: "well maybe that was the original problem, it just quit displaying on the external monitor". 

Ah, you may think that, but I tried getting the stupid thing working in and out of dock so I had removed the external monitor from the equation and was operating on the LCD panel of the laptop itself. So there.

The laptop dock I have is one of those combination dock/external monitor stand contraptions. So opening the laptop lid is not an option, I could only crack it open an inch or two. I had to get on the floor and try to look at the LCD screen and get to the point of "detect displays" on the Nvidia settings app. No small feat actually considering the poor visibility at that angle of viewing.

So after a couple of tweaks, I now have Linux Mint all shiny and smooth in 3D on my external monitor and laptop's LCD screen. I have to get my environment back to the way I like it, but I have the important things, like email and such, completely restored to what was working before.

I have not completely given up on Ubuntu, in fact, Mint is based on Ubuntu. But for my main workstation, I can't afford the lost time in Canonical's creative side tinkering around with the user interface, or display drivers.

All in all, it was no fun having to spend so much time doing something I shouldn't have needed to do. But on the other hand given Canonical's direction with Ubuntu, it was on my path anyway to eventually reload the laptop with a different distro.

Copyright 2011, Kevin Farley (a.k.a. sixdrift, a.k.a. neuronstatic)

Doing Nothing

Have you ever sat in a forest and just listened? Not just walked through a forest, but really listened? I raise the question because I could picture it in my mind the other day. I was able to transport myself through memories back to another time when I sat quietly in a forest and was able to allow it to soak in. It may seem odd, writing about that in the brutal cold of a winter when trees are bare and snow drifts cover the ground. But maybe that is the best time to think of it.

It seems that a lot of people cannot allow themselves to sit and listen, they have to be "doing something". They have a need to be busy and moving. Such people perceive lack of motion as a lack of character. But I contend that taking the time to relax, let go of the world, and enjoy a little bit of the wondrous creation around us is not only "doing something", but doing something profound and beneficial.

So often we are swept up in the world of humans, with its expanses of concrete and machinations of steel and glass, that we can no longer appreciate the quiet moments in life. We are drowning in the cacophony of human noise and we have no clue how loud it really is.

There are times when I would give nearly anything to catapult myself out of this chaos and into the middle of the woods, far beyond the sound of man-made existence, and simply rest, taking it all in. The sights, sounds, and feel of the forest fills you and naturally pushes out the more stressful things of life. It is very much "doing something" by moving very little.

It is easy for me to imagine being there, in the middle of some woods, as I spent many days of my youth hunting through the hills and hollows. I would be out in the woods for hours hunting squirrels or deer. As I get older, and presumably more responsible, I find it difficult to get both the time and the motivation to go hunting as I did once before. Come to think of it, part of the reason for not wanting to go may be "fences".

You see, in my younger years, I could trek through the woods for hours and never see a fence, a road, or any sign of human existence. Growing up in the Appalachian Mountains, it was not hard to find such a place. But now, with many years and many miles between me and that time of yesteryear, those opportunities are much rarer. People and companies ward off their land, erecting fences and gates, presumably for our "protection", but mostly just "because its their land".

I suppose it is their right, as the property owners. Still, I remember vividly those days in my youth when I could spend an entire day out in the woods far beyond the range of any fences or gates. I was free to roam where I may. Those days are gone I suppose and we all have to make do with smaller worlds.

Yet even with only a few acres of trees, you can still transport yourself into nature's realm. It's easy for me to picture but quite hard to describe actually. Words that come to mind are "fresh", "clear", and "hopeful". I don't know why those words come to mind, but they do. Well, at least in late Spring and early Summer these are fitting words. Other seasons have different feelings, and different words. But for now, I will just consider "summer".

When most people venture into the woods they create so much noise, all they hear are themselves clumsily tromping through leaves and brush. And that is not really a problem, but you have to stop and settle in order to hear most sounds of the forest. So after the din of moving, that is when you need to sit back against a tree - don't worry about the bugs, most of them will not bother you - and start to let go.

So you sit there, amid the shade of countless trees, with your back up against rough bark and leave the world of concrete and steel behind.

At first, you hear very little. Your ears have been desensitized to the quieter sounds. The world of man is much louder than the forest. Your ears soon attune to the new sounds around them. The wind blows the leaves of the trees above you creating a hiss much like the sound of a receding wave at the beach. Small birds and animals flit and dart about looking for something to eat creating small fits of sound in all directions. Your brain is now adjusting to this new sound level. You have taken the first step into a different world.

As you relax and your breathing slows, you become more aware of the forest around you. You hear it. You smell it. You feel it.

In the hidden depths of the forest, birds chirp and call out to each other. A wood pecker hammers out its presence. Somewhere overhead a hawk rings out its poetic cry. With each wave of the tree tops, you become further removed from focusing on yourself, and more aware of life all around you. Abundant life, with creatures in their daily effort to eat and thrive, is evident everywhere.

Eventually, after your brain has adjusted to the sound level, you hear more of the details, more of the small bits of life. You hear the scratches of a squirrel's claws as it clamors up a tree, the sound of a bug nibbling on some leaves. You may even hear the sound of a deer bounding away somewhere out of sight.

You feel breezes blowing over your arms and face and through your hair. As the trees open holes to the sky, drops of sunlight fall in around you. Where the beams of sun touch you, you feel the sun's warmth. With a blue sky peeking around the trees, and the sunlight raining down, perspectives change.

That vision, or description, or whatever you desire to call it, may sound quaint, or simply trite to some. It may even sound a bit naive. But I don't think so. I have been there many times. I have sat in forests and done "nothing" numerous times, simply to be there. And countless times I have gone back there, most often in my mind, simply so that I may reset, or reboot, myself.

Time to get back to work I guess. Signed on to a computer, in an office, a million miles yet only a thought away from the serenity of a mountain woodland.

Copyright 2011, Kevin Farley (a.k.a. sixdrift, a.k.a. neuronstatic)

When Did You Last Scan Through AM Radio?

The other day I was driving back from visiting my eldest daughter at college and I grew tired of scanning through the FM bands hearing nothing but loud mouthed "radio personalities", the same old formulaic "popular" music, and commercials for everything from buying gold to planning for your next divorce (not making that up). So after turning off the radio a few times, I thought I would give the AM band a whirl for old time's sake.

There was something comforting in that AM hiss and the sound of radio crackle. I think it was because it triggered memories from childhood, days when cares were lighter and responsibilities fewer. 

So as I scanned through the AM stations, I was taken back in my mind to a particular spot on a particular day. I was sitting in a pickup truck waiting for my father to come back to it and listening to the radio.

I remember most vividly riding around with my father in a Ford pickup truck. He would often have the radio on and the window down smoking a cigarette. I didn't like the fact that he smoked, but he did. So whenever I smell Kool Milds being smoked, I think of my father. That was his brand and I can still recognize it.

Speaking of smells, there was something about those Fords that was distinctive. You could be put into a Ford pickup blindfolded and you would know it was a Ford by its unique smell. I don't know where it came from, but go smell the inside of one sometime. Pick an older model, from the 70s or 80s and you will see... I mean smell... what I mean.

"I'll just be a minute." That was what my father said as he left the pickup truck and headed off toward a small yellow bricked building the coal company used as a personnel office. I sat there only a minute until I turned the key to get the radio to come on.

The rain spattered lightly on the windshield and the dull gray of a late Spring sky spitting rain muted all colors. Country music was coming out of the speakers and I was going to have none of that. I had a preset on that old radio to a "popular" station and I switched it immediately. Some less-than-memorable rock song trailed off to nothing and the DJ called out the weather. Apparently it was not raining where he was.

The news came on, playing a lead-in musical sequence on some kind of vibrating antique electronic keyboard. A man read the news, flatly, and just the news. There was no hype or droning of political opinion. Nor was there any salvo of vitriol launched at politicians good or bad. It was just the news being read, devoid of inflammatory adjectives.

I sat and played with the wing windows in the truck listening to the news. When the rain let up, I rolled down the window to get some fresh air. I looked out at the trees bursting with dark greens just before summer. Soon it would be getting hot, but not today, it was almost a bit chilly. A few vehicles passed by as the news ended and the DJ came back on. 

I wasn't interested in the news. I wasn't interested in the music. I pressed dad's preset button and country music twanged forth from the radio once again.

I turned off the radio and waited and looked over toward "the grill", wishing I had some money to go get a grape Nehi. As I sat there and pondered my complete dehydration, my dad emerged from the small personnel office and was headed back to the truck.

He always wore a sort of work uniform, even though he worked in an office. That day he had on a khaki shirt and pants, a usual ensemble for him. At a little over six feet tall, dad was an imposing figure to me and to many people around where we lived. He strode over to the truck. He always walked so confident when I was a kid. How I wished I could be as tall as him. I still wish it, but that is not going to happen now.

Climbing into the truck, we set off for the "supply house", a warehouse a couple miles away. I would be spending a few hours there that day. I don't know why I was going there. I don't know why that particular day I was in the truck heading to the warehouse. But I was.

My father is gone now. But not forgotten. I tell my kids stories of his sometimes outlandish adventures and life with my dad. I see him in so many memories and I even hear him laugh in the crackle of AM radio static.

This post is not really about scanning through AM radio. This post is about remembering those you love and finding them in the oddest places. Even at 1400 AM on your radio dial.

So go ahead. If you are old enough to remember the AM radio days, turn off that FM and switch it over to AM for a while. See who you find in the static.

Copyright 2011, Kevin Farley (a.k.a. sixdrift, a.k.a. neuronstatic)

The Short List - Political Criticism

Why is it perfectly acceptable to vilify George W. Bush for his presidency, and that is considered socially acceptable, but attempt to vilify Barack Obama and you face extreme criticism and are often cast as a bigot or a racist.

I don't understand this. Especially when I consider the things that those who hate Bush have touted that he "ruined", "adversely affected", or as some have said "compromised". Here is a short list of such things as compiled from a liberal democrat's site that goes on and on about George W. Bush. Apparently that author holds that George W. Bush is a villain in the following areas:

• The truth
• America as we knew it
• The Constitution of the United States of America
• The presidency
• The moral high ground
• The presidential oath of office
• An independent press
• Accountability in government

Now these are just some of the reasons given on that site. Most of the rest were lists of names, I don't know who most of the people are. I presume Republicans of some infamy in their eyes. But what about this short list in light of the first 1.75 years of Barack Obama?

The Truth

Obama promised, repeatedly promised, to have an open administration and government. In his own words "encourages accountability through transparency," and said: "My administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in government."

But what happened when his own efforts were in jeopardy of passing? Closed doors, secret meetings, outright bribery, and in some cases coercion in the passing of "health care reform". Oh but some protest, "that was not the president's doing" they would say. Oh really? When did the president tell them to open the meetings, allow Republicans to be present and contribute, and someone tell me when he told them to create the bill with enough time for people to actually read it before voting on it? He did not do those things because it suited him not to.

He cannot hide behind the Congress and say "they did it". The buck stops at the white house. And for a president to promise transparency as he did, there you go, an outright lie.

America as we knew it

The liberal democrats in office, under the leadership and goal setting of Obama, have attempted to completely change the America I grew up with. Was America about government takeover of business? Was America about ramming legislation through the process that the public was at best split over? Considering health care, the nation was split and it is still split. That is hardly a mandate.

What about American borders? What has Obama and Congress done to protect our borders, specifically the southern border? Nothing. They are using the issue as a political token to get immigration reform. When did America allow open skirmishes with armed foreign groups to occur on our soil. This is happening now. When the governor of Arizona asked Obama for help securing the state's borders, she was urged to "be his partner" in working toward a comprehensive overhaul of the nation's immigration system. There was no help. No troops. No fences.

This is not America as we knew it. Would any president up to and including George W. Bush have allowed armed insurgents to engage in open warfare on our soil without a response? No. Not one.

And how about blatant socialism? And please, taking over corporations, running the health care system, those are socialist actions. Go read your high school civics books. Those are examples of socialism.

The America I knew and grew up in was not socialist. And I pray it never will be.

The Constitution of the United States of America

This is a particularly tricky issue for Barack Obama. He has already openly violated the constitution on several points. here are a few:

• Violated Article 1, Section 6 by attempting to vote Hillary Clinton a pay raise while waiting for her to become Secretary of State. It is against the constitution to do so.
• Violated Section 9 by taking Chairmanship of the UN Security Council, it should have gone to an ambassador and the constitution requires a congressional vote to approve such a title for the president.
• Violated Article 1, Section 2 by attempting to give the census job to his Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel. It was not within his authority to do so.
• There is no constitutional support for the appointment of "czars". Obama has appointed numerous czars to oversee issues that are constitutionally within the realm of the legislative branch of government. Their existence is constitutionally wrong.
• Violated the 1st Amendment by the confirmed attempt to silence Laurie Williams and husband Alan Zabel for Criticizing Cap and Trade.

The Presidency

Remember when Obama's transition team leader was asked if he was ready to take office? Her response was he would be "ready to rule on day 1". That should have been a clear warning sign to everyone who paid attention. When oil was rushing into the Gulf of Mexico, why did Obama not allow foreign support to come in early? And why did he go golfing so much when this crisis was unfolding? Why did he wait so long to do anything? Perhaps because it was useful to him to have a crisis such as this so they could push through further legislation to shutdown ocean oil drilling. Perhaps he just had no clue what to do.

Obama has used the presidency as a political tool, not unlike many other presidents, but he has not even attempted to mask his efforts. People spoke of George W. Bush as being an arrogant president. He arrogance is nothing next to the arrogance of the Barack Obama presidency.

The moral high ground

I am not even sure why this was so often applied to George W. Bush. If people even remotely understood how the government works, they would see that Bush more often than not retained the moral high ground. As for Barack Obama, why was he always in company with those that preached violence to others and those that spoke of the government of the United States as being "criminal" and "violent"? Where does that show a moral high ground? Consuming preached hatred does not make for a moral high ground.

The presidential oath of office

Gaffs aside, the oath contains this part: "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States". See the part about violating the Constitution above.

One who so willingly violates the Constitution is not so faithfully defending it. Or, he is simply incapable of understanding it. I don't know. I assume its the former.

An independent press

This was applied to George W. Bush and honestly, I have to wonder what that web blogger was smoking. The press had never been overly kind to Bush. In fact, many times he was made the fool of in the open press. If the press were to treat Obama the same as the treated Bush, there would be calls of racism and demanding that those responsible would be fired.

But as it turns out, that will never happen. Obama is the darling of the liberal press and is favored in their reporting. This is a general thing for the liberal press, they love liberals, they hate conservatives. To deny this reality is living a lie. Open your mind for yourself and look around you. Pay attention to the how the press treats liberals vs conservatives. There are exceptions and some of those are on both sides: there are some major news agencies that are overtly conservative - maybe 2 at best.

So while it may not be Obama's fault directly, where is his criticism of them? Where is the president urging fairness? Where is the president leading? He is not.

Accountability in government

Barack Obama has been placing people in position to disrupt accountability in government since he took office. The "czars" he has appointed work for him. There is no independence and they are in in bed with most major sections of government. While it may sound like conspiracy theory to suggest he has done this to protect himself, one can hardly deny it will vastly help. Given that Obama is not stupid, he would have known this from the beginning. Did the potential backlash sway him from this? No. Did he ever address this? No. It seems like a willing act.

And as for the promised transparency, we have yet to see any of it. Obama's presidency remains secretive and he remains unaccountable for the failures so far.

So there it is. That is my short list of criticisms of Barack Obama. I criticized him on what he has done and what he has not done. Not who he is, not his religious beliefs, not his ancestry, not his wealth, not on anything other than what he has done in the race for president and as president.

I am not attacking the man. I am criticizing the man, based on his own merits of his presidency and actions. Anyone who rises up to lead has by that very action opened themselves to criticism.

I also stand by what I wrote and quoted as being accurate as best I could determine. If you have criticism of something I wrote based on its accuracy, please share. I shall correct it. If you have criticism based on your disagreement with my opinion, you are free to write your own position and post it where you have permission to do so legally.

I ask that if you disagree, then don't read this anymore and don't post any comment. I will delete them anyway. If you agree with my position then don't post any comment, I will delete those as well. This is my opinion and my position. It is not up for debate and it is not up for mockery. Please respect my opinion and position and I will respect yours.

Flame me and you just confirm my opinion of liberal slander and show me to be correct.

And if you already commented, it just proves you failed to read the whole post.

Copyright 2011, Kevin Farley (a.k.a. sixdrift, a.k.a. neuronstatic)

 

Where Are Your Friends?

Some time ago, my wife and I attended her 20 year high school reunion. I knew no one but it was fun learning about her friends from high school. Seeing the juxtaposition of the pictures of the kids in high school and now walking around in their late 30s at the party was amusing. My wife was the quiet type in high school and didn't have a huge circle of friends she would hang out with. There were several old friends she was quite happy to see and some that she found it easier to speak with now more than she did back then. All in all, a good evening.

With this event still fresh in our minds, my wife and I went for a walk the next morning. We were staying the weekend with her sister in modern suburbia, replete with stone faced town houses, well maintained lawns, sparkling cement sidewalks, and an incredible lack of people moving around this morning. My wife asked the question "I wonder how many people who live here really know each other?"

So I told her what I had seen in my time staying here with her sister and brother-in-law (I have stayed here a lot for work), and that I have seen some amount of interaction of people at times. Granted, I am not the best one to speak for the level of interaction as I am not really here at times where such interaction would be at its highest, but you can get a sense of things over time. I told her about various people that I have at times spoken to and interacted with in my movements around the neighborhood. Then I made note that where we live, in a very rural area, that we probably really don't know many other people much better. We know the people we go to church with, our neighbors, and to some extent the families of our children's  friends. But how well do we really know them?

My wife and I moved into rural NC at different times from different places. My wife has been in this location since marrying a man from the area about 16 years ago. After they divorced, she remained with her children, deciding that it was the best thing to do at the time. She and I married five years ago and I moved into our little rural NC house and have really struggled to "fit in" and establish a set of good friends, the kind that you can call on to help, will call you to help, and will generally just be happy to "hang out" with you.

I grew up in rural Appalachia and in my years since college, I have lived in multiple states and in multiple settings including suburban, rural, and in-between areas. I have had to adapt to multiple neighborhoods and local customs. Though I am no expert on the subject of "fitting in", I have had to do it many times so I at least have some experience.

After five years of attempting to fit in and reach that point of inclusion, I find that I am no closer to the goal. While I have many "friends", that friendship has its limits. My wife and I have talked about this extensively. She is still at the same point of fitting in as she was 16 years ago when she first moved here.

Now its not that there is anything wrong with the people where we live, nor do I think there is anything inherently wrong with us. At least I hope not. Rather I think there are two different forces at work to keep people at arm's length, so to speak, that work differently, but have the same end.

For those who live in the suburbs and find themselves in neighborhoods that don't really come together, I think they are seeing the "mobile workforce indifference". The mobile workforce indifference comes about when people, and quite often knowledge workers or other professional, move a lot for their jobs. Many such workers don't know how long they will be at any one location and they find that its difficult to invest the right amount of time needed to really fit in. Its hard to get several years worth of knowing someone in less than a year. People don't have that kind of time anymore. So in the end, they just don't try very hard. And to the people already there, they don't know how long these newcomers will be here, so they don't try too hard either.

Note that its not that the people who were already there, or the people who moved there are necessarily rude or indifferent, its just that they are living busy lives and its difficult to put forth a lot of personal time investment in something that may be short lived.

For those that move outside the suburbs, into the rural and semi-rural settings, and find themselves in areas where they really just don't gel with the local population, I think they are seeing the "not-family indifference". The not-family indifference comes about when people move into a region that has long family histories - those counties where 80% of the people can trace some kinship via family lines to most each other. When people move into an area where they are not related to the local population in some way, there simply is little room for them in most people's lives. This can also happen when a person divorces and is "out of the family", as happened with my wife. When you are not related by family ties to people in the rural and semi-rural areas, you are something of an outsider. Others always have something going on in their lives that involve family or others who they have known since childhood and thus are "like family" and consequently don't have much extra time for non-family events.

Note that its not that the people who were already there, or the people who moved there, are necessarily rude or indifferent, its just that it is difficult to put forth a lot of personal time investment in others who are not family, and thus possibly be accused of slighting family. For those that move into such areas, its difficult to gauge how much they can push themselves until they are met with unanswered calls and a cool response. Its a precarious balance for both sets of people.

Of the two, I think the mobile workforce indifference is the easiest to overcome, as I have done so in times past. You tend to find others who are like you, mobile, and thus its easy to take on new friends knowing that any of you may be heading off to some new location at any time. Since its expected, it drops the bar of expectations and makes it easier for some people to deal with this kind of fitting in. But the "not-family indifference" is more complicated and involves more touch points for those who live in those family ties. They have to be careful with taking on new friends so that they don't create problems with their own family and family commitments.

Both of these situations lead to the virtualization of friendship. When you are mobile or an outsider and thus find it difficult to meld into the local environment, you can find stability in online friends. People can move, lives change, phone numbers change, but as long as you have that email address, online social network hook, or MMORPG guild buddy, you can have a friendship that can be stable and fulfilling.

For those that are not as hooked in the online world as myself, that statement may seem very odd. But think about it. You can have a friend that is always reachable, always there, and you can meter the amount of involvement you have with them (and them with you). And contrary to what some may believe, you can actually develop very strong ties to people you have never seen in person and live in other states, other continents, or move from place to place. Internet connections are ubiquitous, these friends don't necessarily move out to where you can't reach them, unless you or they specifically want to.

Back to the conversation I had with my wife that morning. It occurred to me that I knew more about the lives of people I have never met physically than I do about many people I see weekly. I spend more time sharing jokes and stories with online friends than I seem to with local people. And there are online friends I have who I would sooner pick up the phone and call them with some problem I wanted to talk about, than I would with some locals.

It would be easy for others to judge me and say that I am too aloof from local humans, or that I spend too much time online. It would be easy, but it would be entirely incorrect and reflect that those who would say such a thing really do not know me. I am an extrovert, ready and willing to talk to anyone about nearly anything. I find it easy to talk to people I don't know and strike up conversation. I live an open life and don't really hide much. Yet, I find myself still on the outside looking in when it comes to fitting in the local environments.

Through work I have built some of my strongest friendships. Many have lasted for years, keeping in touch via online means. Others just melted away due to changing lives or simply losing contact. Currently, my best friends have come through work and through church. And those friends are awesome, yet there are very few times I actually find myself "hanging out" with any of them. Unless there is some motive, some reason to get together, it just doesn't happen much.

Perhaps I am wrong, but I feel that my situation is not unlike that of many others who find themselves building closer ties to online friends over time. At least others over the age of 24 or so. Those younger humans  have entirely different social patterns which are based on their erroneous belief in immortality.

But the appeal to online friendships and relationships is you find others with similar beliefs, interests, or quirky humor and they are always there, no matter where you are or where you move to. They post something nearly every day and at the oddest times, and sometimes, they post just the right thing to lift your spirits when you need it. Its not often that at 3:00 a.m. while you can't sleep, a friend just happens to call you or come see you and give you that pick-me-up you need. And its a good thing they don't. It would be entirely awkward considering you got the pick-me-up post while sitting on the toilet using your smartphone to access Facebook.

Copyright 2011, Kevin Farley (a.k.a. sixdrift, a.k.a. neuronstatic)