The Road Ahead

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The Road Ahead

We live in an area that has begun to use Green
Bins for household waste. Our regular garbage
is picked up every other week and the only
weekly garbage collection is our green plastic
bins, to be filled with leftover food products
and other organic waste.

When the program first started, I was sure
we could never change our ways, but before
long, depositing bones and leftover food in
the bin became automatic.

Why am I telling you this? Because using the
computer will also become easy for you the
more you try. Sure, the learning curve is
steeper than remembering which container
to use for which type of garbage, but the
idea is the same. Every time you perform a
function or solve a problem on your computer,
it will be easier than the time before.

This week, I read a book written by Bill Gates
in 1996 titled 'The Road Ahead'. Gates said,
"Computers frighten almost everyone
(everyone but children), before they learn to
use them. When people spend more time with
computers, they understand them better.
You can start by playing computer games or
doing other simple things. Once you start
using them, I think you'll like them."

With the Internet, we can keep in touch with
old friends and make new ones; have virtual
experiences of flying an airplane, driving a
car, even dissecting a toad. Pilots and doctors
practice their work without worrying about
accidents. Every school can have a wonderful
library thanks to the Internet.

Gates saw then how much our world would
change because of computers. Banking and
shopping online, distance learning, the ability
to telecommute and work from home - all of
these grew as software became better and
more powerful.

Gates talked about his own futuristic house.
Anyone in the house wore an electronic pin that
told the house who and where you were. When
it got dark, the pin would turn on lights nearby
and turn them off when you went away. Music
would play near you and the phone ring nearby
only if the call was for you. A home control
console activated choices of lighting, music,
and temperature. That was in 1996, so who
knows what his home is like now!

The book ended with a cartoon showing a mutt
using a computer and saying "On the Internet,
nobody know's you're a dog." How true - on
the Internet, we are all on equal ground.

When in my 40's, the university library where I worked was computerized. The thought of using those machines at my age was so intimidating that I moved to another department. I transferred back a year later, determined to learn.

To my surprise, computers were easier to use than I imagined, and so enjoyable that I went back to school full-time.

In The News:

Yahoo! News: Top Stories

Key panel recommends impeaching Ill. governor (AP)

AP - A key panel unanimously recommended impeachment for Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Thursday, setting up a vote that could make him the first governor to face such fate in Illinois' sordid political history. Blagojevich should lose his job for abusing power, mismanaging government and committing possible criminal acts, including federal allegations he tried to sell off a U.S. Senate seat, the special committee concluded.

Cheney: CIA did nothing illegal in interrogations (AP)

AP - Vice President Dick Cheney said Thursday that he sees no reason for President George W. Bush to pre-emptively pardon anyone at the CIA involved in harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists. "I don't have any reason to believe that anybody in the agency did anything illegal," he said.

UN halts Gaza aid as deal OK'd on truce resolution (AP)

AP - The U.N. suspended food deliveries to Gaza and the Red Cross accused Israel of blocking medical assistance after forces fired on aid workers, killing two, as the threat of a wider conflict emerged with Lebanon. With violence unabated in Gaza, key Arab nations and Western powers reached an agreement Thursday on a proposed U.N. resolution calling for an immediate and durable cease-fire between the two sides and moved for a vote late Thursday night.

Democrats criticize Obama's proposed tax cuts (AP)

AP - President-elect Barack Obama's proposed tax cuts ran into opposition Thursday from senators in his own party who said they wouldn't do much to stimulate the economy or create jobs. Senators from both parties agreed that Congress should do something to stimulate the economy. But Democratic senators emerging from a private meeting of the Senate Finance Committee criticized business and individual tax cuts in Obama's stimulus plan.

Madoff 'victims' do math, realize they profited (AP)

AP - The many Bernard Madoff investors who withdrew money from their accounts over the years are now wrestling with an ethical and legal quandary.

Petraeus: Afghan, Pakistan problems are really one (AP)

AP - U.S. policy to win in Afghanistan must recognize the poor nation's limitations and its neighborhood, especially its intertwined relationship with U.S. terrorism-fighting ally Pakistan, the top U.S. military commander in the region said Thursday.

Fatal police shooting sparks violent protests (AP)

AP - In grainy cell-phone videos played over and over on the Internet, police officers force an unarmed black man to the ground and hold him face-down on a crowded train platform. Suddenly one of the officers draws his gun and fatally shoots the man in the back then looks up.

Court papers: Gotti neighbor was dissolved in acid (AP)

AP - It is perhaps the most intriguing unsolved mystery from the gaudy gangland career of John Gotti: Whatever happened to the neighbor who accidentally ran over and killed the mobster's 12-year-old son and then vanished?

Man flees courtroom before verdict, gets 6 months (AP)

AP - A Wise County man who would have been on probation for his drug conviction will now have to spend six months in jail all because he fled before hearing the verdict and was captured after a high-speech chase through three counties.

Florida, Oklahoma play for college football crown (AP)

AP - The Oklahoma Sooners and the Florida Gators meet tonight for the BCS championship. It's a matchup that includes a pair of Heisman Trophy winners, an SEC vs. Big 12 debate and more than its share of trash talk.

Israel faces criticism as Gaza toll hits 765 (Reuters)

Reuters - Recovery teams ventured into battlegrounds of the Gaza Strip on Thursday to gather bodies from the rubble, and Hamas officials said the Palestinian death toll in Israel's 13-day-old offensive had risen to 765.

Obama pushes stimulus, warns on recession (Reuters)

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama warned on Thursday the U.S. economy could stay mired in recession for years without bold action and he urged lawmakers to work day and night to pass a massive stimulus plan.

Citi backs measure to help avoid foreclosures (Reuters)

Reuters - Financial giant Citigroup Inc will support a proposal in Congress to rewrite U.S. bankruptcy law to help troubled mortgage borrowers avoid foreclosure, Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said on Thursday.

U.S., Iran share interests in Afghanistan: Petraeus (Reuters)

Reuters - The United States and its allies share some interests with Iran when it comes to stabilizing Afghanistan, Army Gen. David Petraeus, head of the U.S. military's Central Command, said on Thursday.

Illinois panel recommends governor's impeachment (Reuters)

Reuters - A legislative committee on Thursday recommended the impeachment of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, citing widespread abuse of power including allegations he tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

Madoff had $173 million in checks ready, U.S. says (Reuters)

Reuters - Accused swindler Bernard Madoff had signed checks totaling more than $173 million in his office desk ready to be sent out before his arrest, U.S. prosecutors said in court papers on Thursday asking a judge to jail him.

Obama names Virginia gov as Democratic Party head (Reuters)

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama named Tim Kaine as head of the Democratic Party on Thursday, rewarding an early supporter with a high-profile political post even as he continues to serve as Virginia governor.

Wal-Mart and other U.S. retailers warn after dismal holiday (Reuters)

Reuters - Wal-Mart Stores Inc and other top U.S. retailers delivered disappointing December same-store sales and profit warnings on Thursday, sparking fresh recession concerns that hit stock and currency markets.

Diplomats push for Gaza ceasefire as UN agency halts work (AFP)

AFP - Diplomatic efforts to end the Gaza conflict intensified Friday with Western and Arab diplomats agreeing to call for an immediate ceasefire as the death toll from the two-week-old war rose past 760.

EU announces breakthrough in Russia-Ukraine gas dispute (AFP)

AFP - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin agreed Thursday on the terms for the deployment of gas monitors in Ukraine, paving the way for an end to a Europe-wide energy crisis, the EU presidency said.

The Road Ahead

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