Power of the Internet

POWER OF THE INTERNET
 December 13 & December 15

It seems difficult to imagine, that only 20 years ago, I refused to have anything to do with computers. Although our son and I played challenging games on his Vic-20, and later, a Commodore 64, the computer was an advance in technology that I found unnecessary, given that my Smith Corona electric typewriter did everything that I wanted. When asked by a former supervisor to input some data into the office’s one and only computer, I rebelled, but found myself pressing a few buttons on the machine one day at noon when the staff had left for lunch. Next thing I knew I had pulled up a chair and the rest is pretty much history.

Today, I have several computers and a website, perform routine maintenance on both, and cannot imagine functioning day to day without a computer screen in my face. I do most of my business now in this manner, everything from purchases and bank transactions to changing my programming preferences with Bell ExpressVu. Even the last two computers I bought were done online. More than 25 e-mails a day come in with nature related questions and requests for information and I am beginning to think that the only people I actually talk to are those who attend my guided hikes, and possibly the cashier at the supermarket!

In my earlier years, there were some amusing incidents. All of us have sent e-mail messages to the wrong person, by incorrectly entering an e-mail address, and watching helplessly as the message sped off into cyberspace. Back when the Internet was in its infancy, I was with a service known as CompuServe. Its e-mail program was configured in such a way that only numbers appeared as the e-mail address, and unless the sender indicated their name, recipients were often at a loss to know from whom the letter came. One day I received one such e-mail from a person who signed herself, simply, as “Trish.” In it, she apologized for her lack in communicating with me over the years and asked enthusiastically about the “kids.” Not able to remember this person, I responded by saying that the kids were fine. Although our “kids” back then consisted of one son, a dog and a few goldfish, I thought her reply might give me some small clue as to who this mystery person might be. The exchange when on for several e-mails, when finally, I bluntly asked her to reveal her identity, as my wife was starting to get a little suspicious of all these chatty e-mails from “Trish” Turns out she was a Sprague from Indiana and was trying to reach her brother, “Terry Sprague” in Virginia, had typed in his name in an e-mail Search, and came up with my address. We both had a good laugh over that one, but further correspondence revealed that we might even be related.

For the most part though, my computers, as well as the Internet, have been a positive experience, providing opportunities not available elsewhere. It is through this instant access to people and places that the outdoor program I operate has enjoyed so much success and so much pleasure. It is a way to keep instantly connected and streamlines the opportunity to keep the programs operating and educate people on the fascinating world of natural history.

On another memorable occasion, someone sent an e-mail with an attached photo of a deer carcass, completely cleaned out except for the rib cage, and beside the eviscerated remains, a healthy pile of scats. The sender wanted to know what animal may have done this. I responded, by asking where he lived as this would help in determining what predators occurred in his area. When he replied that he lived in New Jersey, naturally I was somewhat curious as to how he got on track of me as someone who might have an answer for him. Using the popular “Google” Internet search engine, he had typed in “animal dung” and the Search immediately flashed my name on his computer screen. I could almost see the twinkle in his eye as he revealed this to me. In an effort to redeem myself, all my columns I do for five different newspapers are carried on my website, and his search had simply responded to one I had done on animal scats and how they can assist in determining what species may be around.

Even more remarkable, it turned out this person lived in Paterson, New Jersey, the very city in which my wife and I had spent a night after a week’s vacation touring around the New England states some years back. Determining that the scavenger in question which had left the mysterious scats behind at the deer carcass was likely a coyote, we corresponded for some weeks after that, and further found out that he was actually a police officer with the Lower Manhattan Police Department and had been in one of the New York Trade Centre Towers when the first plane struck on September 11, 2001.

So, the Internet and e-mail can combine to be very educational as a research tool. Sometimes heartrending as in the case of the police officer who poured out his feelings to me about the Trade Centre disaster, but other times, very entertaining. I read the online editions of all the local newspapers and keep up to date on everything in the world as it happens. I also know in an instant what the day’s weather is going to be, simply by checking the Doppler radar site and also reviewing the local forecasts from Environment Canada. However, even the most sophisticated electronic gizmos are not infallible. The 20 centimetres of partly cloudy that fell overnight on December 4^th, was totally unexpected, as I switched on the outside light and let the dog out in my pyjamas and bedroom slippers.