Becoming a webmaster is a bit like re-inventing yourself. Suddenly, all the rules of existence you used to know no longer apply and reality must be re-invented. As the world of print recedes into a fierce competition for dwindling resources, the online world grows my megabytes every millisecond. Web pages are accessible from any location and the thoughts of a writer in Tallahassee may be tele-broadcast to desktops in China and Chile. For me the Sub-Vatican is like a virtual home -- my online hard drive -- an opportunity for me to share my thoughts with anyone who may be listening. Thank you for listening.

I'll have to admit that I wanted a web site long before I actually started uploading files. In fact, I've had this computer since January 1999, but I didn't start uploading files until the fall of 1999. Why? Because every time I would enter the Geocities file manager I would scratch my head in a bewildered fashion when confronted by bizarre HTML codes and arcane computer protocols. Eventually, I became embarrassed because 8th graders have web sites and I'm too dumb to learn how to upload files.

My hesitation was prompted by a fear of the dangers of technology as well as an inability to understand it. In fact, one of the features in the Sub-Vatican entitled "RANT: the dangers of data retrieval" explores these fears. Ironically, those fears have now been uploaded and may be electronically approached from any computer with access to the Internet.

Eventually, I decided that creating a web site was an existential imperative, so I just sat down and did it. Most of the Sub-Vatican was created that evening in 1999 by simply uploading files that had collected in my hard drive. That's when the concept of the Sub-Vatican hit me.

One of the quirky little features of my computer (iMac) is that it has no removable storage. The idea behind this, as I understand Steve Jobs thinking, is that the computer is meant to be more of a "dumb terminal" to the Internet than a storage facility. When I realized that, I decided to create the Sub-Vatican: a virtual collection of my thoughts, feelings, ideas and disappointments. The virtual nature of its existence creates a permanent repository for these thoughts while transforming each into an ephemeral entity of digital data. You may "enter" and "exit" my mind at will with a simple click of the mouse. The idea that the Sub-Vatican is a "place" speaks to the dramatic changes that will befall the world due to the Information Revolution.

Life in the post-Internet world will see geographic borders become less important and intellectual distinctions more pronounced. With the continuing ease of communication and the growing importance of our global economy, the world will become a smaller place and the thoughts of its inhabitants will rise in volume.

The Sub-Vatican represents, in a virtual sense, the symphony of my mind. Sometimes it’s a simple and pleasant melody. Sometimes is a complex cacophony of chaos. Many times, it's just a representation of the world as I see it. Hope you enjoy.