Optional

A few of years ago a friend showed me how to save images on web pages. I'd no idea before then that it was possible - I thought one just looked at them when the page was on the screen, and when the connection was broken it disappeared. Like television. He found this funny, but was very gentle about saying so. Then he did something else, accessing one of those numerous folders on my pc that I'd no idea existed, then doing something unexplained with it. I didn't ask what.

A bit later, he had gone, and I opened up the 'My Pictures' folder, preparatory to doing a bit more of this exciting new picture saving thing. I saw that where there had been a couple of pictures there were now hundreds. I understand now that he had copied into the folder all the image files from the internet cache, but it seemed strange then to see the components of the internet, all in bits and pieces like the components of a mosaic taken out of their context and itemised. Pictures, backgrounds, advertising banners, even the buttons for navigating around sites, all lined up in alpha-numeric order. It looked like an enthusiastic dissection.

Sometimes it's fun, but I still prefer paper. If I could print out my 'friends' page, or something, I'm sure I'd comment more often, or at least feel I'd read it properly. And the same goes for everything else, all the pictures I've seen, lives I've read.

It rained biblically yesterday evening, and the weather is broken for the Mayday Bank Holiday. Blame me, for I angered the Fates by buying a big tub of ice-cream on the way home, before the clouds burst. To make God laugh, tell him your plans.