Tripod: Messages from the Staff

<body bgcolor="#CCFFFF" link="#FF0000" vlink="#990000" text="#000000" background="../../../tripod/letters/img/www_subdomain/bg.gif"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td valign="TOP" align="CENTER" width="178">  <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="170"> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP" width="100%"> <a href="../../../www_subdomain/adm/imagemap/logo-map.html"><img src="../../../img/nav/www_subdomain/logo.gif" alt="Tripod Map" border="0" height="58" width="170" ismap></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP" width="100%"> <a href="../../../www_subdomain/adm/imagemap/universal2-map.html"><img src="../../../img/nav/www_subdomain/universal2.gif" alt="Member Services Map" width="170" height="59" border="0" ismap></a></td> </tr><tr><td align="LEFT" valign="TOP" width="170" bgcolor="#999966"> <img src="../../../img/www_subdomain/tripod_zones.gif" alt="tripod zones" width="81" height="17" border="0"></td> </tr><tr> <form action="http://www.tripod.com/bin/redirect" method="POST"> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP" width="170" bgcolor="#999966"> <select name="URL"> <option value="/">Choose one:</option> <option value="/cars_trucks/">Cars&Trucks;</option> <option value="/computers_internet/">Computers/</option> <option value="/computers_internet/">       Internet</option> <option value="/entertainment/">Entertainment</option> <option value="/fun_games/">Fun&Games;</option> <option value="/health_fitness/">Health/Fitness</option> <option value="/home_family/">Home/Family</option> <option value="/jobs_career/">Jobs/Career</option> <option value="/money_business/">Money/Business</option> <option value="/shopping/">Shopping</option> <option value="/society_culture/">Society/Culture</option> <option value="/sports/">Sports</option> <option value="/teens/">Teens</option> <option value="/travel/">Travel</option> <option value="/women/">Women</option> </select><input type="IMAGE" 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href="../../../www_subdomain/adm/imagemap/logo-map.html"><img src="../../../img/nav/www_subdomain/logo.gif" alt="Tripod Map" border="0" height="58" width="170" ismap></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP" width="100%"> <a href="../../../www_subdomain/adm/imagemap/universal2-map.html"><img src="../../../img/nav/www_subdomain/universal2.gif" alt="Member Services Map" width="170" height="59" border="0" ismap></a></td> </tr><tr><td align="LEFT" valign="TOP" width="170" bgcolor="#999966"> <img src="../../../img/www_subdomain/tripod_zones.gif" alt="tripod zones" width="81" height="17" border="0"></td> </tr><tr> <form action="http://www.tripod.com/bin/redirect" method="POST"> <td align="LEFT" valign="TOP" width="170" bgcolor="#999966"> <select name="URL"> <option value="/">Choose one:</option> <option value="/cars_trucks/">Cars&Trucks;</option> <option value="/computers_internet/">Computers/</option> <option value="/computers_internet/">       Internet</option> <option value="/entertainment/">Entertainment</option> <option value="/fun_games/">Fun&Games;</option> <option value="/health_fitness/">Health/Fitness</option> <option value="/home_family/">Home/Family</option> <option value="/jobs_career/">Jobs/Career</option> <option value="/money_business/">Money/Business</option> <option value="/shopping/">Shopping</option> <option value="/society_culture/">Society/Culture</option> <option value="/sports/">Sports</option> <option value="/teens/">Teens</option> <option value="/travel/">Travel</option> <option value="/women/">Women</option> </select><input type="IMAGE" src="../../../img/www_subdomain/go.gif" width="24" height="20" border="0" align="ABSMIDDLE"> <img src="../../../img/www_subdomain/trans.gif" width="1" height="3" border="0"><br><img src="../../../img/www_subdomain/p_member_comm.gif" alt="pod member communities" width="146" height="11" border="0"><br> <a href="../../../www_subdomain/adm/imagemap/pods-map.html"><img src="../../../img/nav/www_subdomain/pods.gif" alt="Pod Map" width="170" height="18" border="0" align="top" ismap></a></td> </form> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" width="170">  <tr><td></td></tr> <tr><td align="CENTER"> <center> <a href="#"></a> </center> </td></tr> <tr><td align="CENTER"> <center> <a href="#"></a> </center> </td></tr> </table> <center><form name="FreeShop"> <table border="0" width="120" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr valign="TOP"> <td align="center" valign="TOP" bgcolor="#ffffff" width="120"> <a href="/"> </a></td> </tr> <tr valign="TOP"> <td align="center" valign="TOP" nowrap bgcolor="#ffffff" width="120"> <select name="FreeShop" onchange="self.parent.location.href = "http://www.tripod.com/bin/accipiter/tripod_adclick?CID=000023280000033200000000&overrideURL=" + this.options[this.selectedIndex].value;"> <option value="">FreeShop <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00013.htm">Computing <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00013.htm">-& Electronics <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00019.htm">Entertainment <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00022.htm">Travel <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00014.htm">Software <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00015.htm">Style & Image <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00016.htm">Personal <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00016.htm">-Finance <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00017.htm">Business <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00017.htm">-& Career <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00018.htm">Lifestyles <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00018.htm">-& Interest <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00020.htm">Hobbies <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00021.htm">Family <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00023.htm">Auto <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00024.htm">Home & Living <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00025.htm">Health, Fitness <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00025.htm">-& Sports <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00029.htm">Completely <option value="http://tr2.freeshop.com/pg00029.htm">-FREE Offers </select></td> </tr> </table> </form> </center> </td> <td valign="TOP" width="100%"> <basefont size="3">   <p> <p> <img src="../../../tripod/letters/img/www_subdomain/letter.top.gif" alt="from tripod..with love.." width="401" height="124" border="0"> <br> <p><blockquote> <b>From Mike Agger, Assistant Editor :</b> <p> Memorial Day, 1996. It's a cool, spring morning. All my stuff is packed in the trunk of my trusty Volkswagen GTI. A favorite mix tape is cycling in the tape deck as the vistas of Interstate 287 slowly unfold beyond my dashboard. I am driving the 239.2 miles between Williamstown, Massachusetts and my hometown of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. <p> In the spirit of my new Web editorial internship at Tripod, I did not consult any traditional maps for the trip, relying instead on directions supplied by MapQuest to guide me on my way. Speeding north along the Thruway -- really speeding thanks to the BMW M3 with radar detector I am shadowing -- I watch the full, dark green foliage of PA in early summer give way to the light green, early buds of spring in New York State. Around the Saugerties exit, I drop the tape and tune in a 70's radio station. Creedence, the Byrds, and Peter Frampton crackle all the way to Albany. While crossing the Petersburg Pass (elev. 2090 ft.) into Massachusetts, my car's odometer reads 111000. Its binary quality seems like a favorable omen. Cows line the state highway. The manure smell is a fine alternative to exhaust. The sun is setting. Life is good. If you want to stay on the road, feel free to take <a href="/">this exit</a>. <p> Two weeks pass more quickly than road signs at 90mph. I learn how internships can evolve into staff positions first hand. <p> The Tripod house looks just like the graphic on the staff page. When I first saw it, I experienced a faint shock of recognition, like when you see a famous person on the street but don't quite place them right away. Yes, all of the staff really work here. <a href="/">Emma</a> really drives her truck, the red tailgated Goldenbutt, to work. <a href="/">Tony </a> coordinates his typing rhythm with the backbeats of "Tribe Called Quest" songs. <a href="/">Jeff</a> sleeps in the attic after a long night communing with his workstation. <a href="/">Randy's</a> vicious air conditioner cut may have evolved to stigmata status, and infected at that. I keep telling him to read Hemingway's "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" for inspiration. He is not amused. I've yet to meet Tri-pup, but I have been assured he exists in all his cuteness, offline, somewhere in Williamstown. <p> The work is great. <a href="/">Scott</a> set me up with the essentials: a desk, a computer, an ethernet connection, and the name of a place that serves decent iced coffee. I even scored a free t-shirt from <a href="/">Tung</a>. Basically, my job is to scour the web for worthwhile living and travel sites, line up interviews, and track down story leads for the editors. This week I will be talking to one of my heroes, Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature, and Adam Werbach, the new twenty-three year old president of the Sierra Club. We are also putting together a new reviews section that will be great. If you have any favorite books or movies that I should check out, send <a href="mailto:mike@tripod.com">email</a> my way. <p> All of the Tripod veterans are receptive to new ideas, and their dedication to the site is inspiring. My only complaint is the stiff competition in the morning for "The New York Times" crossword puzzle! If you are on the road this summer, be sure to drop by and say hello. You are welcome to a Squeeze soda, and may even pet our itinerant cat, Morris, if she happens to be around. For those with dexterous feet, we like to hackysack in the evenings. And if you are one of those kids who have been spraying gravel in our parking lot, watch out: we've got your license plate. <p> <ul> <a href="/">Mike Agger</a>, Assistant Editor (6/14/96)</ul> <hr width="330"> <p> Read more "Letters from Tripod" in the <a href="../../../www_subdomain/tripod/letters/archive.html">archive</a>. <p> <hr width="330"> </blockquote> <br> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </body>