I prefer to live in the real world for as long as I have left

I do not hold the copyright to this
excellent article:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/uc/20070522/cm_uc_crpmcx/ls_221727
also at:
http://www.creators.com/lifestylefeatures/peter-mckay/get-a-life.html

Here's an excerpt:

Get A Life!
Peter McKay Tue May 22, 3:00 AM ET

Creators Syndicate - I didn't watch all of them (I'm not that much of a geek), but the "Matrix" movies took place in a depressing future world where people only thought they were living real lives. As they went to work, came home and played with their kids, they were stuck in a virtual online world. Evil robots had put power plugs in the back of everyone's heads and were feeding off their life energy while keeping their minds busy in a simulation of real life.

I thought about "The Matrix" when I read a disturbing story in the paper this week. Seems while those of us with lives weren't paying attention, up to 6 million of our friends and neighbors have (voluntarily!) signed up for "Second Life," an online virtual reality where you can create an avatar (fancy name for a pretend person) and live a second life as a computer generated ... you. You can buy a house, go shopping, take a vacation or meet new friends, all without moving a muscle or averting your eyes from your computer screen. It's as if people are saying, "Soylent Green? Cool! Where do I sign up?"

For a lot of these people, "Second Life" allows them, for a few hours at least, to escape into a fantasy world where they don't have real problems. They don't have to think about a mortgage or bills or neighbors. They had a similar technology years before computers came along, but they called it "beer." I should know. I was what they call in the industry an "early adopter" and have now reached coveted "expert status."

...
Every time I see my kids at the computer I remind them that there's plenty of actual stuff to do right outside the front door. I may be behind the times, but I prefer to live in the real world for as long as I have left.
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