The joys of the internet

When I first set up this blog, I said that cyberspace was my least favorite arena for activity and communication. Well, the Internet's ability to make a 9,000-mile gap seem infinitely smaller has given it a different status in my life over the past three months (yes, it's been 3 months!). Now it has become one of my sources of sanity. Studying philosophy full-time could drive a person mad (literally--that is sadly how Nietzsche's life ended) so I find myself in desperate need for high-quality, relatively brainless activity throughout my week, and the Internet has provided marvellously. (Australian TV is full of brainless garbage, but I find watching such shows stressful because I get annoyed at how bad they are).

Here are some of the things I'm enjoying:
- Keeping up with the Yankees, until recently (I'm so sad; yeah, yeah--I can hear all the boos and hisses coming at me); I need another sports team to follow now. The footy season was over a couple of weekends ago, so I can't even get into that. Maybe Duke basketball (my bro's alma mater; yeah, more boos and hisses).

- Watching video clips of The Daily Show: I can't tell you how happy I was to discover this! We only get the Global Edition on TV once a week, but I don't think it's as good.

- www.Pandora.com: cool music website my friend just told me about; allows you to create stations around your favorite artist or song; good for finding similar artists and songs.

- Skype: by far, my favorite. It's AMAZING how easily, clearly, and cheaply I can talk to my family and friends with this, all through my wireless connection and a headset plugged into my laptop. Sounds like a line from a commercial, but it's true!

Don't worry--I'm not spending all day in front of my laptop (well, when I was writing papers, I was). It's just good for those times when I need to take a break or wind down. If you have any other fun suggestions, please post!