onfocus by Paul Bausch

[to be read while listening to When the Levee Breaks by Led Zeppelin]

Yesterday was a day of travel. And a journey to the center of the Internet. I left my little house in Sonoma County at 9. arrived in San Francisco around 10:30 and parked in the "remote lot" on the embarcadero. hopped on the MUNI. arrived at the office. viewed the chaos and tired faces. wires and servers. linux disks and scribbles on notebook paper were scattered. a few folks hadn't slept much. the risidual aura of cursing and frustration hung heavy in the air. "get your car." so I hopped back on the MUNI. drove to the office. we loaded the car down with servers. big servers. bad servers. kick ass servers. then it was onto 101 headed for the South Bay. and there was much cement. as we approached exodus, we could feel the bandwidth humming in the streets. it was palpable. the security at exodus is intricate. I'd tell you more, but then I would be prosecuted. we set up the servers. crossed our fingers. flipped the switch. we added our small contribution to the hum. the great big silicon valley ohm of machines. we had a little dinner at denny's. the frustration of the past few days was gone. replaced with relief and excitement and big picture menus. then back in the car. and a stop at the spectacle that is fry's. drove back onto 101 in time for rush hour. we joked to pass the time. we listened to Louis Prima and the Posies. arriving in San Francisco, I dropped them off at church st. then back to the office. then home toward Sonoma County. and sometimes. on a clear night. I can hear the Internet humming.