Sustain the Matrix

I'm sitting on my exercise bike, typing on my computer. That's right... I have a desktop on my exercise bike that allows me to pedal for hours while working (it's the only way I can find to keep in shape and stay "jacked-in" to my computer all day.

Anyways, I'm supposed to go into my office today to get some work done. However, I'm a commuter, it's a snowy day outside, and I'm thinking about the gas I'm going to burn going to and from work. I'd like to say I'm environmentally friendly when I can and besides, it's the post-xmas time of year when my wallet hurts a bit. If I'm right, the root "Sustain" will be the most used word of 2008! Sustainable market, credit, growth, environment, progress... So, don't I want to sustain?

I ask myself, do you want to help sustain the environment? Would you drive to work and waste the gas when what you need to get done can be done from the warmth of your own home? Are you ready to abandon the peace and quiet of the office (and possibly the productivity) and try to find a quiet corner of the house away from the noisy (very, very noisy) toys Santa got your daughter for xmas?

If I don't go to the office, well then they don't have to heat the office. Those are resources saved too right? My home will stay heated whether or not I'm here. In fact, with a virtual office, I can abandon that room altogether.

One of the biggest concerns I've dealt within my area this last semester is, "How does art fit in a virtual world?" Now there is someone teaching drawing in Second Life! So maybe I can start teaching drawing from home. Poof! My classroom no longer exists. More resources saved!

How far do we want to take this? Perhaps the idea of humans living in small spaces pedaling away on their bikes like hamsters on the wheel while using virtual worlds to live and work (escape?) isn't such a bad one? I'm already doing it! And I feel good about it!

Wasn't the idea behind the Matrix supposed to be evil? What if the world came to a point where every resource was calculated to the point of precision.... Or absurdity! How much oxygen does the grass in my yard produce? Might I plant something else that may yield a better carbon dioxide to oxygen conversion ratio? Do I fill my yard with trees?

Now if only my bike powered my computer... Perhaps my body heat energy could be harnessed too. Am I sounding strange? Ask yourself this: If all the people trapped in the Matrix were released at once, could their world have sustained them? Wouldn't they want to go back in? Wouldn't they want to survive? Live? Sustain?