by Long.Wait.Fellow
(Any resemblance to Hiawatha could be deliberate)
By the boards of on-line service,
By the shining ease-of-use,
By the big clock ticking fast,
Hangs the hour-glass of time,
Hangs the lagging...laughing...hour-glass of time.
Three minutes to connect, four to start the session,
Multiply delays, add up the minutes,
Then square them to the root
Of those two million users,
In tiny chips of nano-seconds.
They think that you won't notice...
Add more time to add new art to each and every mouse click,
Dost thou see what dot.com's doing?
Dost thou know what dot.com's thinking?
Dollar, dollar, dollar, says the mighty hour-glass,
Says the lagging, laughing hour-glass of time.
By the big clock ticking fast, by the shining ease-of-use,
By the shining disease-of-use, by the shining seas-of-abuse,
Stand two million members in the hanging, laughing, hour-glass of
time.
Tis not the wigwam of Nokomis, tis not the daughter of the moon,
Tis all those little moments, running up the bill,
Tis that special on-line service, filling up its tills.