In the wake...Day 16 on the street, two weeks to go.

   They say that the entire compendium of human knowledge now doubles every five years or less now and things become faster and faster every moment.  This thought came to me as I wondered about how we might educate people and get them into better jobs.  I thought about the gap that exists between myself and my older brothers as far as computers go, and how my daughter has to now remind me of things that I have forgotten or never knew.
   I am a techy, too.  So what about those who are homeless?  One would be hard pressed to get more out of the loop.  I sit here, with my netbook and my smartphone and I tap and twitter, while just outside the door there is someone who has little or no idea what I am doing or how. 
   The scene replays itself over and over again, all around the country, everyday.  Most libraries open at nine or ten a.m. and there is a mad rush for the computers.  People will check their e-mail, catch up with loved ones, news, and music, etc.  Most places only accept job applications on line now.  So, when, at most, one has about 2 hours on the computer, how do you keep up with the world?  The clock begins to tick as soon as they sit down and they are probably kicked off after the first hour and then they have to wait again, at the end of the line for their next hour.
   Even this scenario assumes that they have a library card.  Most places require that you have some form of mail that proves you live in the county in order to get a library card and that precious two hours on the computer. 
   Assume that you have your own laptop and you are homeless.  The chances are that you will have to find Wi-Fi.  Wi-Fi and power are often very scarce when the library is not open. Even when it is open, there is a shortage of power and signal strength. 
   I tend to take these things for granted.  My router sits in the corner of my dinky little studio apartment, but it is there.  I can check my e-mail on my phone.  I can keep up with twitter and even watch tv shows commercial free.  It is imperative that we be able to get more information to those who need it.  It is that simple, otherwise, they are left in the wake as the wealth of human knowledge doubles.