VISIONS, VASTNESS, AND THE AMERICAN WAY

So you think you know what that is, do you?

Well, maybe!

But there is more to this life we lead than most of us realize. Whether we like it or not, most scientific, historical, cultural, and religious orthodoxies, in particular so-called American ones, are in fact quite false! ("What are you, a weirdo revisionist eco-freak Commie bastard?" Well no, lots more than that, actually. . .)

Since our belief systems shape the reality we know (not the other way around), most of us manage to be relatively happy and productive in spite of being totally wrong about practically everything. If you wonder how this can be so, consider that any other arrangement would long ago have resulted in chaos and extinction. And if we came into this existence already knowing the truth, what would be the point of the trip? Rules change, beliefs die, and off we go in a new direction, simply because we now believe we can.

I further submit to you that this usually happens because of an idea or a vision someone has had, as in: "it just came to me!" A vision can also be much more mundane, on the surface at least, and not immediately suggest anything radical or revolutionary. You might not even realize you've had one, having been raised to suspect or dismiss these non-linear links to the light. But there's another quality to what I'm talking about. This, for example, is not a vision:

"I'm going to build the biggest software company in the world!"

Call it what you will, it lacks an essential element. Contrast that with the following and you may get a hint of what I'm driving at:

"This is incredible! Just think what people can do with it!"

And it occurs to me that this may also be relevant: here in northern New Mexico there's a traditional Lenten belief concerning blue flames that show where treasure is hidden. If you dig wherever you see a blue flame, the riches will be revealed, but only if you want the wealth for someone else. If you want the reward for yourself, the treasure will sink lower and lower into the ground, always remaining out of reach!

Interesting, yes? So whenever someone does something unexpectedly generous or emotionally gratifying, pay attention, because you never know what may have urged him or her into this behavior. It may have been an accumulation of nudges, an epiphany, or a full-blown bolt from the blue (there's that color again) that can someday rock your world. . .

Those of you who've followed these columns know that Johnny Internet had what amounted to a major vision three years ago. Actually, I had any number of them, but the one that counts involved a sense that I should go ahead and buy a PowerMac 8600 on credit, move to New Mexico, and that everything would be all right! Since this also dovetailed with my wife's desire for change and a strong intuition that there might actually be life beyond academia, it has come to pass that we now live at 8,000 feet in a place where the sun shines almost every day.

Many people who knew us before or have met us since still labor under the illusion that we have inherited money or are living off teacher retirement annuities, but that is absolutely not the case! We are in fact still without a "permanent" home, have most of our own possessions locked away in storage, and are paying for living in this amazing place with Web wages and a very modest, slowly diminishing savings account. Yes, this is "reckless," scary, and goes against all conventional precautions and beliefs, but we are here. . .

If there is treasure buried beneath my upgraded PowerMac, I have not found it yet, nor have I really started to dig. Besides, there are no blue flames licking its dusty beige case, and for the events of the last year to be seen as the result of an actual vision by the implied standards set forth above, there needs to be an altruistic component, a benefit to the whole. Well, this is to let you know that without yet understanding why I have brought us here or whence cometh the outrageously irrational and unscientific energies that may be involved, I may have acquired another shovel: a Nikon CoolPix 950 digital camera!

By the same conveniently overlooked conventional standards mentioned above, there is no way in hell I can "afford" this item, yet for months now I have been utterly convinced that I had to have it, and now I do. Furthermore, I also had to have high-capacity NiMH batteries, a fast charger that also works in the car, a bigger Compact Flash card, and a USB card reader. If this is nothing but stupid, selfish bullshit, I'm in big trouble! But for the time being, I'm having way too much fun to worry. There's so much to explore and share out here, as the hours-old images on this page hopefully show. (I love this camera!)

Just being here was enough of an attraction to cause "low desert"- loving famous Internet columnist Beth Lock and traveling companion Father Alfredo to drive over 600 miles each way over winding 2-lane roads to grace our rented high-altitude abode. Beth says her "evil twin" compelled her to come to New Mexico this past weekend, and we're all very glad she did. (If you've read her work at My Mac Online, you already know that this same evil twin made her buy the graphite iBook SE she showed up with!) Was this a vision or "just" a crazy idea, and is there really any difference? Consider that Missouri-born Beth has lived out West for many years and never once drove through Navajo country -- .until now, that is, because that's what's between here and home.

For some reason I can't quite put into words, I'm really liking all these things right now: the visions, the wide-open spaces, the technology, the communication, and the thought of all that buried treasure. There must be something valuable under the surface and I hope it ends up blowing all our minds in some "insanely great" new way, because it will be such a relief to get out of our rut and move on.

Hey, if the Pope* can ask for forgiveness, anything can happen.

(Dig it!)

John H. Farr edits the Apple Computer News for Applelinks.com and invites your comments. The Farr Site Archives will take you to the past two years' worth of columns. John also writes his WebFaust column for MacAddict.com and a monthly op-ed page column called "El Emigrante" for Horse Fly in Taos, NM. His Zoo Zone site will soon be in all the Web history books, so be sure to see it before all the tourists show up.

*OFFICIAL FARR SITE "Did You Know?" SEGMENT: Did you know that as of this writing, Monday morning, March 27, Pope John Paul only a few hours ago placed a prayer between the stones of the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem asking forgiveness for the Church's persecution of the Jews over the centuries? If this does not UTTERLY BLOW YOU AWAY, go read some history books, fergodssake!

EXTRA! In case it has escaped your notice, crazy + postiive = "insanely great". . .

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November 20, 2008