There are all nature of webpages out there on the internet (so I’ve heard…). Some of them have serious, noble intentions. Most do not. I am not quite sure where “The Daily Rant” fits in, but its certainly not at the top of the heap. When I graduated from high school, there were four websites on the internet in North America (1993). Now, I HAVE, or control, four websites myself. The internet has spawned quite the revolution in the mass production and distribution of poor spelling, bad grammar, screwed up logic, inappropriate photos, horrifically saccharine .midi songs, along with someone’s page devoted to their pet skink (I’m imagining here…). While the internet was originally created with a noble interest in communicating honorable ideas, it has since degenerated into a free for all misinformation distribution machine devoted to sex, stolen songs, pyramid schemes. This doesn’t bother me terribly. Many might consider my own website here quite the waste of time. Sometimes I do.
I do recognize that the internet has become a very good way to get your ideas out to the masses. It is also a very efficient manner in which to advertise your wedding (ouch…segue whiplash).. Take my friend’s website, www.jasonfriesen.com for example. This is a pretty good way to tell people how to get there, etc. However, it was a little unconventional in some respects…
Actually, it is quite a nice site, with a little bit of humor mixed in. This is always welcome. However, imagine my surprise when I discovered a section devoted to ME. This seemed odd. After all, this was the “Jason Friesen” website wasn’t it? Why was there a section with MY name on it? I innocently clicked on the link, expecting a link to my site or something (still had no idea why there would be one there but… whatever). Well, I didn’t exactly find a link to my site. Now, I feel that I must defend what you will find there. First of all, that is not MY picture. I have no idea who that is, only that his image will continue to haunt my dreams for quite some time! I actually found this rather amusing. Giving my phone number was a nice touch too. It became less amusing 10 minutes later, when I got a notification email from the bride telling everyone (a long list of other recipients) that the site existed. So I figured that link would disappear. It didn’t. Suddenly, this became public exposure.
The thing that bothers me the most about this was that I didn’t think of doing it to him first.
So how does one counter such a blatant bout of internet misinformation (Ive never even SEEN a sea monkey…)?? Well, look for the “Unofficial Jason Friesen Website” to be unveiled soon. I intend to have a little fun with it.
Writing this entry was a little more forced that usual. I don’t think it is one of my best. However, I do have a rather good excuse. I wrote two papers over the weekend and Monday, and I fear that all of my good sentences have left my fingertips already. Its just so bloody awful to write a paper where you have to fight for every sentence, every new idea. I have really enjoyed writing papers the entire time I have been doing them (although 4 in 5 days last semester was a little harrowing). Writing is one of the few times in my academic “career” where I can say that the effort I put in always translates into good marks. I wish exams were the same. The paper I wrote at the end of last week, the one that fought back and nearly won, was for my Environmental Physiology of Animals class. The paper was entitled: Physiological and Behavioural Adaptation to Desiccation in the Intertidal Prosobranch Gastropod Littorina. Im sure you will agree this was a most fascinating topic.
The other “paper” I wrote I did all in one day. 14 pages, excluding figures. The thing with this one was that I actually enjoyed it. The idea was to come up with all the habitat requirements of Marten (Martes americana), and decide how a fictitious valley should be logged (after saving a set amount of untouchable land) in order to protect as much of the Marten population in the valley as possible. So, what if I don’t know anything about Marten requirements or logging practices? No problem, we weren’t supposed to research it, and we were just to use our prior knowledge about wildlife requirements and ecological principles in general. Actually, coming up with theoretical ideas was really quite interesting. Certainly more interesting than parroting back research in bits and pieces in order to form a coherent mass of words. Im glad that the last paper I have to write before I graduate was an interesting one. The best ones go to the Ministry of Environment, where they will likely be ignored.
I’ve run out of words and bad ideas, so I now return you to the year 2001, already in progress….