Stop the Internet... I want to get off!

Didja notice that I haven't posted anything in a while?  Yeah, I noticed too.

That doesn't mean I haven't been busy.  I've been writing a regular technology column for the National Parking Association's magazine (called Parking in case you didn't know).  So that's kept me blogging in printed format... sorry, no online link available for these articles.

And speaking of meat space,I've written a few articles for the IPI's magazine as well, including one called "Parking In the Cloud" which was spawned from a letter to the editor, related to another article I wrote earlier this year.  That should be published sometime soon, but I'm not sure when, and I don't know if it will be online either.

So you might ask, "Hey Blake, what exactly have you done online lately?"

And I'd have to say "Online?  Not much.  I'm trying to get off the Internet."

"Get off the Internet?  Are you crazy?  The Internet gives you freedom!"

However in my attempts to get off the Internet I seem to become more entangled all the time.

Take, for example, my awesome rap video.  Yes, I made a video.  It wasn't supposed to go onto the web but somebody posted it there anyway.  The idea was that some parking software company was running a little campaign about how you got started in your parking career (because none of us actually chose parking as a career - instead parking picked us).  But I digress...

So they're doing this campaign and they said "Blake, you should do a rap video."  Because you know me, a guy who can't sing and can't dance will be awesome at rap.  And so like a sucker I fell for it, and then they posted it to the Interwebs.  So I'm warning you not to watch this...

So you clicked on it didn't you?  One minute and twenty six seconds of your life have been wasted - you'll never get those back.  I might owe Will Smith an apology, but I'm not giving you one... I told you not to watch it.

Okay, here's something completely different... I joined Twitter.  Had to see what all the fuss was about.  Interesting concept, but I just can't shake the feeling that the importance of the messages is completely disproportional to the urgency of delivery.  Nevertheless I can think of a couple of practical applications for Twitter, including using it as a broadcast mechanism for up-to-the-minute parking information... but I can't see following the tweets of friends or family.  And then after having the account for several weeks I started to get Twitspam.  So much for that... I deleted my Twitter account shortly thereafter.

So, dear reader, with every keystroke I accrete a wee bit more to the trillion pages already in cyberspace... and even I realize the irony of me trying to get off the Internet, and yet adding to it as we speak.  Peace Park out!