Wikipedia down?! 03/24/2010
 
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For Wiki news, check:
Huffington Post
Mashable
Mashable (Update)
Twitter
Wikimedia Technical Blog
Telegraph UK
Starter Tech
Twit pic
PC Mag
Scitech CNN blog
Facebook (direct post from wiki)
Wikipedia: BACK ONLINE! :)

To quote Joe Biden, "This is a big f***in' deal."


How am I going to read articles on new movies, saving me a trip to the theater?! What happens if I remember a random Disney Channel show from 1991 and want to relive my childhood memories by processing the information in a readily available and quantized format?! What if I randomly run into a woman in labor, no doctor within a hundred miles and no way to look up ways to deliver a baby (don't laugh, it's happened before)! What if I have an interview with the band members of Say Anything in less than 24 hours and need to access a source about them that isn't sopping with sarcasm and awkward language?!

Yes, I have, at one point or another, faced all these situations. When I was a kid, I freakin' LOVED Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers. And Ducktales. And Tale Spin. Dramatic, anthropomorphized animals... what's not to love? Reading those wikipedia entries, while an admittedly pathetic way to relive my childhood, is cheap and easy to do, and an entertaining form of procrastination.

The second scenario occurred in Effie, MN, population 91, during their annual rodeo. It was about 10 p.m, and I decided to investigate the campground, a sprawling expanse of campers, trucks tents and dozens of campfires spread across a vast farm. The first people I ran into were two men sitting drunk around a campfire, while two women were rushing into the camper. I asked if everything was okay, and the drunker man calmly informed me that his girlfriend's water had broken about three minutes before I arrived. TPFR. My jaw dropped, and I pulled out my phone, ready to dial 911... and found I had no service. Not even Edge. Yes. I am serious. And don't call me Shirley.

Luckily, they did have service, and my baby-delivering skills were not required. And, like a true man, I got the heck out of there.

The third situation I find myself in RIGHT NOW. I'm scheduled to do an interview with Say Anything, who is performing in Des Moines on April 15. I dislike their Web site because, while it is candid and drips with personality, doesn't seem to have a lot of the hard facts that I need for a news article. Wikipedia, come back!

I don't know what I would have done if Wikipedia had gone down during my hell week, when I was trying to finish my presentation on dark matter. I don't really take the articles too seriously; after all, anyone and everyone edits them. The value I really place on Wikipedia is on the references at the bottom of the page, which direct you to legitimate sources AND EVEN CITE THEM FOR YOU. Sweet God, I love Wikipedia.

Is it sacrilegious to pray for a Web site? Who knows. All I know is that I don't want to end up like the people in this apocalyptic story.

I may have a mild internet addiction. Thank God I'm going to the Waverly horse sale tomorrow. Time to get uncrazy.
 


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