Still in Awe of the Internets

It is still a bit too wet to work outside on my siding project. NPR is in “fund drive mode” so I have the radio turned off. It is a necessary evil, but I can only take so much of the pledging and pleas for money. (I am a member of my local station and sent my cheque in weeks ago.) I have Pandora streaming on the computer as I type this.

The internets and computer technology is still mind-boggling to me as to how intertwined it has become in enriching my life. (I love to use “the internet” in the plural. It can drive people crazy!) I give this one example…..

Joe Jervis writes a blog, Joemygod which I read daily while enjoying my first cup of coffee in the early hours of the morning. Last year he posted a link to an independently produced video Jonathan Just Because. I bookmarked that site on my computer half way through my first viewing. It is a short I can watch over and over. The songs in the soundtrack were so “New York City” to me. Hip, smart, and classy are the adjectives that come to mind, but I feel old in saying that!!

Last Friday I was taking a break on the front porch swing listening to the NPR program “Marketplace”. In between the news segments I heard one of the songs used in Jonathan Just Because used as filler. Running to my computer I brought up the webpage of Marketplace and was able to research the songs used in that program. Sure enough the song I was hunting was: “Bruises” by Chairlift.

Finding that elusive song put me on a mission to find the music used in the opening of the video. Once again Google came to my rescue. Using the first line of the song: "in my dreams hitting baseball” in the search bar brought up just what I was looking for: “My Slumbering Heart” by Rilo Kiley.

A couple mouse clicks over to Amazon.com and I was able to download both songs for $1.98. Talk about instant gratification. I’m sure I could have found a free download someplace on the web. I’m so spoiled using the Amazon downloader. I remember back to the 1960’s when hit 45’s cost $1.00 from the record store.

Using one of my favourtie tools, The Relative Value Calculator.

In 2009, the relative worth of $1.00 from 1965 is:

	$6.80	using the Consumer Price Index
	$5.51	using the GDP deflator
	$7.41	using the value of consumer bundle
	$7.41	using the unskilled wage
	$8.72	using the Production Worker Compensation
	$12.50	using the nominal GDP per capita
	$19.80	using the relative share of GDP

After viewing JJB again, I explored the Videos homepage. Contact addresses were listed for the writers, actors and director. I was so wound up I shot an E-mail out to the author. When someone does something that affects my life so, I like them to know. E-mail makes it almost too easy.

The next day I received the most wonderful reply. The internets have done so much to make the world smaller and accessible. In some ways that can be a bad thing, but I try to always look to the good and positive aspects of life…..