Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/635424
FEBRUARY 3-9, 2016 UCW 5 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Don't you just love the Internet!?! Our recent "weather event"— as I actually heard one television news anchor refer to the snow and ice smothering a good part of our nation — gave me plent y of time to surf the Web. A meeting I had assumed would take most of a day was cancelled, so I had an entire day of unexpected, but welcome freedom inside my own house. Such fun! I read book and mov ie rev iews, caught up on most of the too many magazines I t ake and checked online with friends and neighbors to make sure ever yone was weathering the storm. W hen I could st and sit ting in front of the screen no more, I made t wo pot s of soup and a chocolate cake! I surfed both out of curiosit y on subjects I do not usually have time to learn about and just for fun. I confess to being a digital immigrant, but how did I find out any thing before the Internet? We all k now we Americans adore list s, and there are list s galore on the Web. Inexplicable laws that make you wonder why someone thought of that . Ever y st ate has them, and here are a few gathered by The Huffington Post . You will be zapped in A labama if you wear a fake must ache that causes laughter in a church. A pick le cannot be considered a real pick le in Connecticut unless it bounces — not sure about eating that! If you tie your elephant to a park ing meter in Florida you must feed the meter just as you would if the crit ter were a vehicle. If your frog dies during a frog-jumping contest in California, it is illegal to eat him. EEW! Planning to be in Idaho over Valentine's Day? Be caref ul — it is illegal to give your sweetie a box of chocolate weighing more than 50 pounds! No wife-beater tees in Mar yland park s, where wearing a sleeveless shir t risk s a $10 f ine. In Massachuset t s, it is illegal to own an exploding golf ball. I would love to k now why that one got enacted. I would not dream of tr y ing this any where, but in Missouri it is illegal to drive with an uncaged bear. And, heaven forbid you should tr y this at home, but in Minnesot a, it is illegal to cross st ate lines with a duck on your head. In New Jersey, men are not allowed to k nit during hunting season, and in Ut ah, it is illegal NOT to drink milk, lactose intolerance not withst anding. W hat about the Tar Heel st ate? Don't even think about plowing your cot ton f ield with an elephant! Computers and Web surf ing , unlike book s, require passwords, and from Gizmodo.com under the title " We're A ll Such Idiot s" come the 25 most popular passwords. Raise your hand if you are guilt y of any of these…123456, password, 12345678, qwer t y, 12345, 123456789, football, 1234, 1234567, baseball, welcome (identit y thieves must love that one!), 1234567890, abc123, 11111, 1qaz2wsx, dragon, master, monkey, letmein, login, princess, qwer t y uiop, solo, password (again!) and st ar wars. As long as we choose passwords like these, crook s will laugh all the way into our bank account s. From the "Mouths of Babes" depar tment with a nod to Ar t Link let ter's "K ids Say the Darnedest Things" comes a series of questions. 1. How to decide who to marr y? You got to f ind somebody who likes the same st uff. Like, if you like spor t s, she should like it that you like spor t s, and she should keep the chips and dip coming. Alan, age 10 2. How can a stranger tell if t wo people are married? You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same k ids. Derrick, age 8 3. W hat do you think your mom and dad have in common? Both don't want any more k ids. Lori, age 8 4. W hat do most people do on a date? Dates are for hav ing f un, and people should use them to get to k now each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough. Lynnette, age 8 5. W hen is it okay to k iss someone? The law says you have to be 18, so I wouldn't want to mess with that . Curt, age 7 Another child had another v iew. The rule goes like this: If you k iss someone, then you should marr y them and have k ids with them. It 's the right thing to do. Howard, age 8 6. Is it bet ter to be single or married? It 's bet ter for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up af ter them. Anita, age 9 7. How would the world be different if people didn't get married? There sure would be a lot of k ids to explain, wouldn't there? 8. And my personal favorite…. How would you make a marriage work? Tell your wife she look s pret t y, even if she look s like a dump truck . Rick y, age 10 That boy has a f ut ure in the diplomatic corps. Joys of Technology by MARGARET DICKSON OPINION MARGARET DICKSON. Columnist. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com. 910.484.6200. The Internet has changed the way people see and interact with the world.