Happy Eid’l Fitr to our Muslim brothers!

It’s already October - the month of the finals, Octoberians and semester breaks. Oh, another month again, and tomorrow is October 2.

Oh, how fast the months peel off that trusty old calendar. And after hundreds of years more, that trusty calendar may not be trusty anymore.

Soon we might be living in the digital world, full of androids and cyberfreaks. Or maybe pornography may be fully integrated in the art world and thus fully legalized.

Oh, how the world quickly revolves. Once there were only cavemen hunting animals or being hunted by them. And all of a sudden there are cars all around, computers abound, the Internet going through a revolution, and devices that many years are large and expensive are now smaller, more powerful, and taken for granted.

Oh, how the world quickly rotates. Once, people are content of being with their families all the time, rejoicing in the bounty given to them by their environment. But now, a mansion is not enough - people want to get more, and more and more.

Oh, how the world easily changes. Once books are copied laboriously by hand, day and night just to make a single copy. Now, there are printing presses, photocopying machines, and computer scanners. There is also a hint that books will be no more, as everything is being digitized. The books of tomorrow are eBooks, PDF files, CHM files, and the Internet itself. Just yesterday piracy is somewhat difficult, especially concerning analog data, for these tend to degrade as many copies are made. But with digital data, copyright infringement became more and more common and more and more easier. There are even people who view that software piracy be legalized. (Btw, copyleft has been invented in order to revise copyright goals).

Oh, how the world increasingly became complicated. Once, learing ABC and 1+1 had been enough in order to survive, but now you have to learn what is the dy/dx in order to get a janitorial job.

Oh, how the world increasingly became mobile. Once, walking is enough, but now, walking is viewed as a repulsive activity. Most travel in cars just to get to the supermarket, and the view of having one car per family member is cool, especially if it is either a vintage or luxury car. Even space traveling is being explored if it could be made commercial, as the plans of NASA and Japan to build a space elevator testifies.

Oh, how the world became so much interconnected. Yesterday, word of mouth was the norm, but now we prefer chatting online to the person next to us. WiFi, 3G, HSDPA, Broadband and DSL promises to keep us online, now being a necessity rather than a toy. A computer is viewed today as useless if you don’t have an Internet connection. IPv6 is being pushed as a new standard because it can support more IP Addresses (those used by computers, other than the DNS, to communicate with each other), an evidence that many people want to REALLY get connected.

Oh, how the world became more insecure. Once only an intricate knot at your door’s handle is enough to keep intruders away from your house, but know even 10-inch thick bank vaults are easily robbed. The human mind, which is REALLY is easy to corrupt, is now more easily being corrupted, thanks to technology and the emphasis on connectivity.

Oh, how the world became more informed. Yesterday, printed media such as books and newspapers are the popular means of getting information, but now, the Internet provides more than that to the extent people do not want to go to the library anymore.

And many more Oh’s.

But the question is: were you able to cope up with our fast-changing society?

Ninety-two days from today and we wil celebrate the coming of 2009. Another year of changes, another year of suffering, another year of hope, and another year of adaptation to our society that seems cannot adopt to itself over time.

Another set of Oh’s, and another round of Ah’s. And maybe another set of Huh’s and Hmmnn’s.

And we can’t help but wonder where we are today.

And still wander further.

Note: This blog entry was posted on multiply on October 1, 2008. View my latest blog entries here.

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