In the 1990s the government was suing Microsoft because Internet Explorer was part of its Windows operating system, and they called that a “tie in” sale that forced people to use their browser. This had nothing to do with logic, it had to do with power. Microsoft was getting too big, and government officials wanted to reign them in, so they invented an argument that flew in the face of logic. It made sense for IE to be part of the operating system, because the purpose of that system was to access the resources the computer used, such as speakers, printers, the keyboard, and networks. These are called “peripherals.” And the reality is that everything that isn’t part of the chip in the computer is a peripheral, including other computers, no matter where they are. For all practical purposes, Zimbawbe is no farther from me than my neighbor down the street, if we are connecting via internet. So why shouldn’t a server in Zimbawbe be a peripheral? And why shouldn’t a browser be part of the operating system?
For the past half hour I’ve been looking at the geography of Urubamba and the sacred valley, where our Global Impact team of 10volunteers will be staying for a couple weeks in August. I’ve been doing this using Google Earth, which uses maps, Geographic Information Systems data, and photos to create realistic images of the sites and topography of the earth. I installed this on my computer after a few insistent nudges from my pool and hiking buddy, Roger. This is software that is easy for you to install and pretty easy to use.
I’m getting to know the Sacred Valley around Cuzco a lo better. And with these virtual maps are imbedded photos that give an inkling of what to expect. Here are some of them:
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| Condors of Colca Canyon |
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| Llama's in Peru |
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| Urubamba Street Scene |
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| Urubamba Street Scene |
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| Mercado Urubumba |
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| CAPILLA DEL CEMENTERIO (a cemetery facility) |
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| Huacahuasi pass, facing south |
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| Salt drying in Peruvian Andes |
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| Inca's agricultural experiment |
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| Let's Fall In Love! |
Uh…wouldn’t you know there would be some wise guy with a camera. Oh, well…
Birds do it, bees do it
Even educated fleas do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love
40 years ago, I had the incredibly good fortune of marrying a bright wonderful woman who had a master’s degree in social work administration. She cared about people. She was a VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America—the domestic “Peace Corps”) who was assigned to a place in Appalachia called Hayter’s Gap, and her first duties were to drive up narrow dirt canyon roads to deliver library books to isolated people. They were isolated because they were poor, and they were poor because they didn’t have a good education. They skipped school because they didn’t have good clothing to wear, got married, had a brood of kids, and continued the cycle of poverty.
Betty was living with a school principal, and sewed her own clothing. So she wrote a grant, obtained some sewing machines and held classes for the parents. I firmly believe there are kids graduating from high school today because Betty taught their mothers – or grandmothers, perhaps – to sew. Something as simple as that.
The summer after she died I visited Thelma Henderson, the school principal she had lived with, and we drove down some of those back roads and up Lick Skillet Holler, the gully that led to an isolated home Betty had visited. It is paved now, and on the way down I noticed that one of the homes along that road had a swimming pool. An in-the-ground swimming pool. And the school where Thelma taught was turned into a community center, with computers that were connected to the Internet. Even in Appalachia, these folks are connected.
This puts into perspective how much we can accomplish by installing clean cooking stoves and water filters and painting kids’ teeth with fluoride. I’m kind of excited. This trip is barely six weeks away.
Love,
Robert
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