 On The Net
with Chris Goh
You watch them from a distance and you remember it wasn't long ago that you felt them inside the womb: every small kick, every small movement.
It wasn't long ago that, exhausted, you held the most precious being in your arms. You watched them taking their first pot out of the kitchen cupboard; gave them comfort from their first bee sting; watched their first heart break, and then gave them room for their own space and individualism (though every bone in your body wanted to help them).
You watched, sometimes frustrated, sometimes with a broken heart, often with closed lips, because you remember it wasn't that long ago that you went through the same process; and only now, being a mother yourself, you realise all the small devotions your mother bestowed on you - how much anxiety she might have had and you smile because you've experienced things that half the world hasn't, as it's not quite the same from a male perspective.
If you're like any of the many mothers I've met, there is one question that plagues you throughout your life, and that is whether you did everything for your children, whether you gave them every opportunity and whether you gave them all the support that you could give.
If you were there from the start to the end; from the happiest to the worst of times, then you did your best.
Whilst in marriage you consecrate your love through vows, from birth 'til death there is a silent consecration of love unique to all mothers for their children without needing any ceremony.
For those who foster, to take a quote from a little girl: 'the only difference between you and any other mother is that the other children are born in their mother's tummy,' and yours grow from your heart.
There are the same anxieties, the same pains and disappointments but those motherly instincts are still there.
To those who have lost their children: you always expect it to be the other way around, which makes the pain all the more real. You're no less a mother no matter how long or short that journey of parenthood was, and the challenges you face are just as, if not more, daunting.
Though you will move on, you'll never forget, and those memories always come with questions, some that you can try to answer, many you have to rely on faith in one form or another, be it yourself or something larger.
To those kids who think they had a rotten mother or similar, the greatest test of a child's or adult's character is toshow love and respect back to their parents, whether you believe it's deserved or otherwise.
If you can do that under those circumstances, you've achieved a great thing in your life and something most people in the world find hard to achieve.
To all of you now who were treated grandly for one day and now the towels are on the floors, you're told you are being too protective again, your plants have been trampled on or you won't see your kids for another month, I'm going to set an example by starting with my Mum, and saying sorry for generations of neglect and not understanding, and knowing you'll be carrying the same burdens (though with the same pride and dignity) for many years to come.
Where would we be without you? Not born that's for sure, and more importantly, not loved, not like mothers do.
Happy belated Mother's Day and for each and every day you are normally forgotten.
HotNews
Compaq logos on the company's corporate buildings have now been replaced with HP signs.
Now begins an unenviable task by the HP executive to prove the public wrong that the merger of these similar giants can work.
Compaq has held large corporate launches all over the world, and though there are many smiling faces it's still a long road ahead.
If HP plan to remove the 80% market overlap that both organisations have in products, there's a good chance that a loss of jobs is involved somewhere. However, to HP's credit, they have got rid of their own products where they have recognised that Compaq has a better product. This includes a range of their servers - desktop down to the Pocket PC where the HP Journado's will step away from the rebadged iPAQ so that is a promising start.
ISP's (Internet Service Providers) now have to provide Internet filtering software at cost price to subscribers.
The ABA (Australian Broadcasting Association) has adopted the Internet Industry Association's (IIA) recommendation and updated the Broadcasting Services Act accordingly. Apart from other issues this will mean that censorship software will probably be cheaper from your local ISP than your retail shop.
Star Wars Episode II will be released in the Cinema's by the time you read this but bootlegged poor quality versions of the movie are already on the web.
Full scripts of the movie are already on the web and there is anticipation that online The Clone Wars will be the most popularly pirated movie on the Internet for the month of May.
HotSites
 http://pages.cthome.net/rwinkler/- Now this may seem unusual but it is a content rarity, and if I was a website collector looking for unusual and unique websites this would rate pretty highly.
This site is dedicated to essays on birds and other wildlife. Very well done even if it's only about those in the Northern hemisphere.
- http://digilander.iol.it/barbaratampieri/
- Barbara Tampieri's Homepage is an extraordinary award site that links and rates websites around the world for their work in fine arts, including sculptors, painters, photographers and the like. Well worth a visit and very well done.
- http://www.ourtownonline.com.au/
- This is a new, innovative idea.
Our town online is a new portal for towns around New South Wales to put their best features forward.
You're also encouraged by the webmaster to be your own community representative. Lismore, Ballina and Byron are up there but, as yet, it lacks real content. Thanks Michael for forwarding this, every success in your new site.
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