From an AP story entitled "File-Swapper Gets Probation":

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 20, 2005 (AP) A man who ran an Internet file-sharing hub where computer users could swap movie, music and software files was sentenced Thursday to three years probation and ordered to use the computer only for personal use.

Jed Frederick Kobles, 34, pleaded guilty in August to a single felony count of conspiracy to commit grand theft. He is the first person in California to be convicted on state charges for illegal file sharing, prosecutors said.

What job is there for a 34-year-old man in Los Angeles that does not involve using a personal computer (and not just "the computer," because I'm sure the restriction is not just on the single computer that ran his file-sharing hub)?

That means no using computers for business in any way - no E-mail, no point-of-sale programs, no PayPal for selling items on eBay if his probation officer arbitrarily decides that's "business," nothing. What job can you imagine that never requires using a personal computer? Could a 34-year-old man hold it for three years?

Yes, his choice is to accept the condition or go to jail. I'm just saying this condition is not the cakewalk this single sentence from AP would lead you to believe.

Actual letter, sent today, from the site's reply-by-mail capability.

 sent this email to you through Life and Deatherage regarding this page.

YOU SUCK YOU PANSY

Yes, that's right, the E-mail address was blank. I get a pathetically lame nasty gram from an anonymous coward who's upset about my commentary on the OU-OSU football game of 2002.

See how blogs have revolutionized the world?