http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005 by the authors Mon, 11 Oct 2004 01:03:49 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/10/10/135616.php#comment-89813 YOu may be sarcastic, but you sure aren't funny. "are typing these messages on battlefield laptops and satellite connections magnanimously provided them by a Pentagon That Cares" Sorry, it doesn't work that way, except for the few lucky folks with Internet accesss in their workplaces. Most Soldiers will work some long, odd hours, and still go out of their way to get on the Internet before bed, or duty, or back out on patrol. If the Internet station is run from a Morale Facility, it is free, and you sign up and wait anywhere from a 1/2 hour to 3 hours to get on the computer for an entire 1/2 hour, if the generators don't go down for maintenance, if the satellite dish doesn't get blown down by the high winds, if the server doesn't crash from 120 degree heat. If the Internet site is a pay site, you pay $2 or $3 for the privilege of going through the above, but you generally get an hour or more. Soldiers generally make the choice between sleep or Internet, but it is the only way to contact home most of the time, or interact with anyone other than the people you work with, in short it is one way to decompress. I can't imagaine a Soldier from the Viet Nam era having to wait weeks to get snail mail. 89813@blogcritics.org Mon, 11 Oct 2004 01:03:49 EDT