Jul 8, 2006 5 min read

Welcome back to the big wide world of technology, or at least a small part of it. While surfing online this week, I found a nostalgic gem at a href=”http://www.youtube.com/ http://www.youtube.com/ end

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My friend, Jerry Onesi, sent it to me because it features all kinds of music videos and footage of older bands.

To my surprise, I entered the words “Blackburn, UK” into their search engine and up popped a short video that some person had filmed, walking through some woods that I had loved as a child.

I played there most weekends, and it was incredible to see; even through the blurry video, the familiar pathway into the woods looked pretty much just the same today as it did back in the late 1950s.

It gave me a great kick to see it again.

That’s part of the wonderful aspect of the Internet.

Obviously, it has more than its share of negative aspects, too, but to me and most of the people I know, it’s an integral part of daily life, much like the newspaper, the TV or the phone.

All three bring you information and technology and have reached out across our world and made it smaller.

So far, I’ve resisted the urge to splurge on any new goodies that are not essential, although, due to the new increased print rate of my Samsung laser printer, I’m starting to look around for a backup toner cartridge for when this one runs out — since I’ve already printed about 500 sheets.

I know that most of you have inkjet printers, so don’t forget to check out the deals at a href=”http://dealnews.com/printer-ink/ http://dealnews.com/printer-ink/ end

to find amazing prices on inkjet replacement cartridges and lots of other printer goodies.

This is a great site. If you’re fed up with paying more for your ink than you did for your printer, check it out.

Also, don’t forget that if you miss the column in the paper, you can catch up by reading the article in the archives at my Web site at a href=”http://bloodylimey.com/ http://bloodylimey.com/ end

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By the time you read this, we’ll have had another great Fourth of July holiday, which, for us, including some jamming and rehearsing with our new blues band, the details of which will be on the Web site soon. It’s amazing how many local bands have a presence on the Internet.

I recently checked out the sites for Happy Endings ( a href=”http://happyendingforever.com/ http://happyendingforever.com/ end

), Josh McCann, a local singer-songwriter ( a href=”http://joshmccann.com/ http://joshmccann.com/ end

), the band Impact ( a href=”http://www.impactrocks.net/ http://www.impactrocks.net/ end

) and, finally,for the well-known Area 51 band ( a href=”http://thearea51band.com/ http://thearea51band.com/ end

).

I’m sure there are many more.

Recently, my wife and I were talking about how, in the ’80s, you could go out several nights a week in the area and see and hear live music performances. Whether your taste was rock or country or jazz, you could choose from a wide selection of bands.

It now seems that karaoke and DJs have taken over, but, thanks to the bands above and many more, live music is coming back.

The Storey Square series and the upcoming Cycles in the City event promise a great showcase summer for music.

I personally know from teaching guitar that more and more people are getting together and forming bands in our area.

If I could only teach Doren to play guitar, we could have the H.I.T.S. band.

But, seriously, it’s wonderful to learn something new and, with all the information available on the Internet, no matter what your hobby or interest is, it’s there.

And, the Internet never closes (unless, of course, your access goes off).

I think that most homes probably have an Internet connection of one kind of another, by now, and, with the prices of computers, just about anyone can afford one.

Last week, I was asked again about Mac versus Windows and what the main differences were. With my tongue firmly in my cheek, I answered, “Well, just cut by two-thirds the amount of commands you need to run the computer and you’ve got a Mac.”

Really, though, it’s just a matter of personal preference. My wife and I are still chuckling at the continuing onslaught of Mac vs. PC ads that are running on TV.

You can also see them at a href=”http://www.apple.com/getamac/ http://www.apple.com/getamac/ end

.

They really are funny, so check them out if you’ve missed them.

Also, check us out on H.I.T.S. on HSTV channel 19. You can’t miss me — I’ll be the older, suave one.

Seriously, keep emailing us and reading the column. If you like it, please write to the paper and let them know.

Until next time, have a great week — and happy surfing.