Every nerd should tip his or her propeller-beanie (search geezerpedia.com) towards the nearest satellite and bid Sir Clarke "thank you" and a fond farewell. Clarke shaped reality and virtual-reality and images from his mind fill your head and mine, having been fully incorporated into our culture. (See Simpsons and, especially, Futurama, especially, "Bender Meets God.") peace, mjh

Or perhaps I should quote, "Much ado about nothing." Do you really need to be "in contact" (as hollow a phrase as 'clockwise') with someone every moment? Cell phone; text messaging; twitter -- and for the oldsters, email and blogging. Ever heard the expression "alone with your thoughts"? Wikipedia it. Better yet: Tune out. Pull the plug and get off the Net for a while. Go outside. (Hey, leave the cellphone, PDA and MP3 player inside.)