(@)(@)     {0,0}
 (~~~~)    ./)_)
 (>vv<)      " "

     \
       Did you know that one of the very
       first television advertisements during
       the AFL–NFL World Championship Game
       was for Budweiser beer?

 (@)(@)     {0,0}  -- Hoo?
 (~~~~)    ./)_)
 (>vv<)      " "

 (@)(@)     {0,0}
 (~~~~)    ./)_)
 (>vv<)      " "

     \
       Yep! I guess you could say it
       was a SUPER BOWL PROTO AD!

 (@)(@)     {0,0}
 (~~~~)    ./)_)
 (>vv<)      " "

     \
       ya see, some people go real fast
       and other people they go real slow

 (@)(@)     {0,0}  -- Hoo?
 (~~~~)    ./)_)
 (>vv<)      " "

 (@)(@)     {0,0}
 (~~~~)    ./)_)
 (>vv<)      " "

     \
       yeah that's the real root cause
       of most workplace conflict

 (@)(@)     {0,0}
 (~~~~)    ./)_)
 (>vv<)      " "

     \
       Who even ever asked for or wanted
       an information SUPERHIGHWAY anyway?

 (@)(@)     {0,0}  -- Hoo?
 (~~~~)    ./)_)
 (>vv<)      " "

 (@)(@)     {0,0}
 (~~~~)    ./)_)
 (>vv<)      " "

     \
       All I want is like a small cute
       remote information HIKING TRAIL
       somewhere out in the woods where
       I can see some flowers and leaves
       and listen to the birds and stuff.

 (@)(@)     {0,0}  There was a sense of euphoria
 (~~~~)    ./)_)   while we were in flow, like we
 (>vv<)      " "   were invinsible, but afterwards
                   everything seemed brittle and 
     \             fragile like it was held together
  with duct tape and kite string and like it might
  all come crumbling down if the wind blew in from
  the wrong direction. And there we were in the
  aftermath, unsure whether we accomplished our
  goals, who we hurt in the process, or if there
  was anything good about it all.

 (@)(@)     {0,0}  -- Hoo?
 (~~~~)    ./)_)
 (>vv<)      " "

 (@)(@)     {0,0}  
 (~~~~)    ./)_)   
 (>vv<)      " "   
                   
     \             
  So anyway that's what we call a "hackathon". The tech
  bros invited me to "do some lines" and at this point I
  can't remember if it was code or coke.

 (@)(@)     {0,0}  So I picked up a book in the 
 (~~~~)    ./)_)   middle of this epic fantasy series.
 (>vv<)      " "   It's by this author who I heard
                   does really good sword and sorcery
     \             stories, and I'm into that. Anyway
  the story opens on a tragic, lonely noble lord, 
  last of his line, subject to disfigurement because
  of the family curse and whatnot. But, get this, it
  totally takes place in Old Germany during the rise
  of the Nazi party!

 (@)(@)     {0,0}  -- Hoo?
 (~~~~)    ./)_)
 (>vv<)      " "

 (@)(@)     {0,0}  I was so disoriented that I looked it up,
 (~~~~)    ./)_)   and there will eventually be a classic
 (>vv<)      " "   fantasy storyline that interweaves with
                   the modern nazi storyline.
     \             
  Which means eventually the hero is literally going ride
  a dragon to Hitler's bunker and punch him in the face and
  if there's one thing this world needs more of, it's mother
  fucking dragons beating the shit out of nazis.

 (@)(@)     {0,0}
 (~~~~)    ./)_)
 (>vv<)      " "

     \
       ...and that's how a became
       a YAML engineer.

 (@)(@)     {0,0}  -- Hoo?
 (~~~~)    ./)_)
 (>vv<)      " "

 (@)(@)     {0,0}
 (~~~~)    ./)_)
 (>vv<)      " "

     \
       To be honest, I'm not sure it's a real
       job either. But they keep giving me
       YAML and I keep ENGINEERING it!

 (@)(@)     {0,0}  Is there even such a thing
 (~~~~)    ./)_)   as "mainstream" anymore? I
 (>vv<)      " "   mean it used to be the case
                   that everybody watched the
     \             same nightly news and listened
 to the same radio station. And "counterculture"
 was growing your hair long and listening to rock
 and roll. Now the duality of mainstream vs. 
 counterculture seems as quaint as the idea that
 there are only two genders or only two sexes.
 Kids don't listen to rock & roll to rebel, they
 listen to soundcloud emo rap, or whatever, and
 if the niche sound that speaks directly to them
 doesn't exist, they can invent it and upload it
 for the world to hear with little more than a
 cheap laptop.

 (@)(@)     {0,0}  -- Hoo?
 (~~~~)    ./)_)
 (>vv<)      " "

 (@)(@)     {0,0}
 (~~~~)    ./)_)
 (>vv<)      " "

     \
 At the other end of the LONG TAIL of the
 internet is a metaphorical infosec furry,
 and because of them there are as many
 small STREAMS and countercultures as there
 are individual people.

 (@)(@)     {0,0}
 (~~~~)    ./)_)
 (>vv<)      " "

     \
       there should be no such thing
       as billionaires

 (@)(@)     {0,0}  -- Hoo?
 (~~~~)    ./)_)
 (>vv<)      " "

 (@)(@)     {0,0}
 (~~~~)    ./)_)
 (>vv<)      " "

 (@)(@)     {0,0}
 (~~~~)    ./)_)
 (>vv<)      " "

     \
       So did you watch the Super Bowl?

 (@)(@)     {0,0}  -- Hoo?
 (~~~~)    ./)_)
 (>vv<)      " "

 (@)(@)     {0,0}
 (~~~~)    ./)_)
 (>vv<)      " "

     \
       Yeah, me neither.