True, but careful release of a zombie virus will allow the shopping to continue. In fact I think I've seen some beta testing of the virus at the shopping mall.

Illegal for a reason - not disputed.

When you have folks skilled in certain areas, they can be a force for good or for evil. But if you want the good you cannot avoid some of the evil. Intelligence and creativity, unlike other more mechanistic human activities, cannot be harnessed safely. It's in the nature of knowing how to think outside the box.

>> I used to be all about the tech, but as I age I'm finding not only that I can't keep up, but that I don't want to keep up.

Then you will be left behind... are you sure that is really better? Perhaps it is, for your comfort zone but not for your career.

Hallway conversations are a hassle and waste of much time, at least the ones I'm involved in:

"Hey X, I've been waiting to catch you this morning. The alpha server app is hanging at midnight when we do backups and restart the db. What do you think is the problem?"

"No idea. You'll have to email me the logs and point me at the current source for that app. Then give me an hour and I'll have some suggestions for you. I had some time this morning; you could have emailed me last night when you got alerted and I might have had a fix for you already."

"Well uh, I wanted to discuss it with you in person."

"Not much to go on with just a verbal description - can't help you until later."

(inefficient...happens to me all the time, people who prefer talk over writing an email)

But if you are not available to participate with the others *right now*, they will meet and make decisions without your input. If you cannot supply answers to the boss when he needs them, he will start consulting someone else and your value to him drops.

Basically when the rest of the Borg collective are collaborating without you and progressing toward the future, you are being left behind and treated as non-essential. You had better produce some kick-ass value when you do choose to engage others or you are gone.

I actually sympathize with you and live in the disconnected world you describe but I also work hard to provide great value to offset my inconvenience to others. It works but many are not cut out for that way of life - it can be stressful and you better not stumble.

> I'm mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore. I'm leaving the country.

I feel the same way but that isn't the solution, because the reach of the U.S. is global. Just look at the postings of Europeans here, and the U.S. military complex. There is no place to hide on Earth. This monster has to be fought, not run from until it dies of old age.