It's a nice day.

I'm just old enough to remember the time before the internet. Or, at least, the time before most of the world had immediate access to it. I've spent this morning catching up on emails, reading the news, listening to WBUR, Facebooking my friends (is it a verb, really?) and generally sitting in the my office at home catching up on the world. It has been pleasant. I have a cat on my lap and a cup of really good coffee. It has become a nice morning ritual...and my day goes better if I have about an hour each morning to sit here, wake up, and get caught up with news, friends and email.

I've noticed however, that the web can be not very nice. With things like the little videos of the unbelievably stupid things that people do, the vast amount of porn (I'm told...) and untold amounts of just utter crap, the web is really not a very nice place. You have to work a little bit to find nice things on the web. It strikes me that my own 'blog occasionally contributes to the snarkiness and unpleasantness of the web. Everyone now has a vehicle through which they can vent and rant, or a place to demonstrate to the world that the human race is doomed to extinction, one Jackass-style stunt at a time. To be sure, this immediate access to information can only help in some ways...I read blogs and news feeds that keep me informed as to what my Government is up to, something that can only help.

So today, I am going to try to have a nice day. I hope you have one too. My coffee cup is empty and I am now fully awake. Time to get ready to go to work and spend time with my students.