Computers or Sanity: The choice is yours.

 

Our topic today is the amazing advances of electronics.  For years now technology has been progressing by leaps and bounds.  Despite all these improvements however, computers still have their trademark, admittedly astounding ability to fail at even the simplest of its intended functions.  To the best of our knowledge, computers are specifically designed to be able to do almost nothing but play games of solitaire no one had ever heard of before the invention of computers.  Besides providing new and exciting solitaire hybrids computers are capable of only a few more things.  Here’s a complete list.

1.        Do Neat Stuff

Many computers possess the ability to perform great wonders that nobody would ever, ever, ever notice, in a million years.  I include expert programmers in that.  To compensate for this idiocy on the part of people to not appreciate when their RAM has been recompiled into 60% fewer Kilowatts per meter-second, computers developed the ability to brag. When a computer has achieved something remarkable like changing the time on Daylight Savings, then it will display a small message, demanding undeniably that you acknowledge it’s triumph before continuing to do what ever you were doing.  Message boxes are only one form of Computer-bragging, however.  When your computer successfully does what you told it to (and that’s not often) then it will inform you with one of two things: a ear-piercing mind-numbing beep set two stages louder than your average fire alarm, or the musical equivalent of “Ta – DA!” You will encounter this proud chord when you shut down, which happens just before you realize you forgot to print whatever you were typing up.

2.       Do Illegal Stuff

If any of you loyal readers out there have encountered the famous “Windows” program by “Bill Gates” of “Microsoft”, then you will be familiar with this phenomenon.  You see, when your computer gets bored, or senses you might be accomplishing something interesting or useful then it will shut down the program and inform you it has “performed an illegal operation” and tells you to “contact the manufacturer” blaming the program as if we didn’t know it did it.  These are the computers that run the US government.  It will display this little gem on a message box that will give you the option to look at a the “details” of the error, which is just a series of letters and numbers that mean nothing even to the original programmers or you can click on “OK” as if you approve of your computer’s little jaunt on the wrong side of the tracks.  If you click on this button the FBI will know, and will bust into your house with guns the next time you try and take a shower.  In case you were wondering, the computer is actually electronically stealing all of the money in the bank where your account is and transferring it to a Anonymous Swiss Bank Account that Bill Gates has created for that purpose.  That’s why he can afford to buy small African countries solely to cause them to war amongst themselves for his amusement.

3.       Connect you to the Internet

Closely related to doing illegal stuff is the Internet.  The Internet is a worldwide web of computers cleverly designed so that all of them can get a busy signal at the same time.  If by some bizarre chance a lone rebel should be able to connect with the Internet then it is designed so that no matter what you type in to the search engine you will see nothing but a long list of sites where you can hear the truth about UFOs.   There are also sites whose only reason for existing is to tell you all about people you’ve never met, complete with pictures of friends, pets and family.  Apparently the Internet is supposed to be a stalkers paradise ~ who else would want to read all about their child’s latest beauty pageant prize?  Why all this secrecy you ask?  Why no real information? Because the Internet is where the government keeps their deepest, darkest secrets. The Nixon Administration, Area 51, Deep Throat, it’s all on there.  Just keep looking!

4.       Allow the exchange of “Email”

Emails are an amazing communication tool that allows you to type up a letter on your computer, and click the send button, ensuring that no matter what you wrote everyone on the planet but the addressee will be reading it within seconds.  This includes ~ but is not limited to ~ teenage hackers, several random email addresses, the British Government, the CIA, the IRS, a number of the larger terrorist organizations, the more advanced of the aliens among us, and Bill Gates.  But this isn’t all; computers also allow you to receive email!

This isn’t to imply you will receive email addressed to you, of course.  What you will receive is the electronic equivalent of junk mail, named after Spam, because similar to the meat-like plastic it is useful only to forward to people you don’t like.  The sort of Spam you will receive varies, but will usually include, ads for dirty internet sites, products you can’t imagine ever buying, sweepstakes nobody ever wins, credit cards, chain mail, and notices that people you have never met have overdue library books out.

 

                So if you plan to obtain a computer to sharpen your solitaire skills, then we will need to practice bizarrely unlikely threats and accusations for if you try and install any programs or even think the word internet.  We don’t advise it.

 

                Return to the Tylerian Underground #6-10