YESTERDAY, I told of my not-all-that-painful-really adventures in acquiring a DSL line.

I knew in advance I'd be spending a lot of time playing with my new-and-way-improved connection, so I wrote or at least outlined several days' worth of these columns before the scheduled installation day. What I didn't know was how super-fast, always-on access would affect darn near every computer-based thing I do.

I've always resisted putting games on my hard drive, so to avoid the temptation to waste away my sittin'-at-the-screen time on diversions that won't get any writing done or improve this site. Netting was different, because of its then-built-in limitations.

I couldn't get on without spending at least a minute waiting for the modem to finish its groaning and wheezing. I couldn't stay on without running the risk of missing a quasi-important phone call. I couldn't download anything substantial without tying up the connection for 5 to 10 minutes per meg. I couldn't move between Websites or pages without moments or minutes of load time; I kept a newspaper or magazine handy so I could keep my mind alert during these frequent delays.

But now, as you've guessed, that's all different.

My browser can be on all day and all of the night. Emails load fast enough that I could go on every known mailing list, from "gas-pump-collectors-l" to "britney-spears-l." Chat rooms, MOOs, MUDs, instant messaging, all called out for my attention.

I could spend moments-that-become-hours with the streaming-video hilarities at Honkworm International (Shockwave animations, some of which involve fish who sit at a bar, telling tall tales and drinking like, well, you know) and Trailervision (Hardware Wars-style parody movie previews).

Or, if in a more serious indie-film mood, I could spend many leisurely times with the DIY shorts at Atom Films or D.film.

I also could view all the hotnastywow movie files I wanted (only to very quickly find I didn't really want most of them, which go beyond hardcore in inviting self-defined "heterosexual" male viewers to gaze in awe at other men's parts in ultra-extreme close-up).

I could grab all the (legal and not-quite-legal) MP3 sound files I wanted, only to find it tuff to find any I wanted that didn't turn out to be broken links. (MP3 search sites have a long ways to go before they'll be even halfway useful.)

And I could follow Web link after Web link until I got totally and thoroughly lost--then start all over with a portal or Weblog site, leading me who-knows-where.

I could pretend to be a tall, financially-secure vegan in a singles-talk room. I could view each and every page found in a search for "'clark' 'humphrey' -'gable' -'bogart'".

I could, and still can, do all of these things and more. But I won't do them all, at least not all immediately or all the time.

After all, I got this line so I could do more efficient research for this site and for my books. It'd go against the whole point of it if I had so much obsessive-compulsive fun that I never got around to workin'.

So fret not, MISC.-fans. The site will not only remain a daily, it'll get better in the weeks to come, with select new features and new fun links. (It still won't be a real Weblog 'cuz it'll still emphasize original content more than links to other folks' stuff.)

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!: More live events for The Big Book of MISC. are comin' at ya, at least if you live round here (Seattle). The next is Thursday, Aug. 19, 6 p.m., at Borders Books, 4th near Pike downtown. Be there or be trapezoidal.

TOMORROW: Are material comforts, such as home-office DSL lines, the antithesis of what makes for real art?

ELSEWHERE: That other hi-speed Net connection, the cable modem, could be crippled by cable companies using tech-tricks to hobble access to sites the cable companies don't approve of (or don't have a financial stake in)... More bashing of the first Woodstock, by a relative of one of its organizers... The so-erudite-it-makes-you-squirm J.K. Galbraith calls the deregulated global economy a farce of crony capitalism...A hilar-ee-ous putdown of "Angry White Rappers..."

Recent highlights:

• Imaging what Butoh erotica might be like; plus a strange MS Word bug and two different "Seattle Music" Websites.
• The Internet just might kill daily papers as we know them--maybe the best thing papers could ever hope for.
• Hip irony vs. the 'New Sincerity.'
• The first and second parts of my interview for an Italian magazine about the Seattle music scene today.
• The end of Seafirst Bank as we know it?
• Something I never expected: a new bowling alley in the heart of town.
• Fun with search-engine keywords that mistakenly bring users here.
• A few wacky/poignant items found online lately.
• Weblogs, the latest cyber-fad.
• Has the alterna-rock generation already become passe?