Light Posting

I'll be taking a break over the next few days. The
Command Post and
Winds of Change are
great sites, if you haven't discovered them yet and there are links to many
others in the sidebar. The Internet has made is easy for many who have never
written before to try their hand. The real impact of blogs and similar sites has
been to tap into a large pool of people who would never have written otherwise.
It has brought people -- doctors, engineers, businessmen, soldiers, teachers,
etc -- who would otherwise never been accounted 'writers' into the public
discourse. Whatever their stylistic failings, this huge access of participation
has rewritten the rules on what it means to be a 'public intellectual'. When
Greyhawk or Austin Bay file from the battlefield; or when recognized experts in
computer fonts can instantly participate in the analysis of fake documents
proferred as genuine a huge reservoir of previously untapped intelligence
suddenly becomes available to everyone. Well, bye for now.