Fifteen Minutes: Panopticon, For Real!

He sees you drooling over the Abercrombie models as you pass through the Square on your way to practice. He watches you picking your wedgie slyly as you slip out of Out-of-Town News. When you sneak out for a Store-24 run at 3 a.m., he knows. Is he hiding among the pit kids? Nope-heis sitting at his computer, looking at you via the ithe Official Dewey, Cheetham and Howe Hahvahd Squayah Web Cam,i located at http://cartalk.engine.trippy.net/ cartalk/deweycam5.htm.

The camera will trace the path of anyone in the Square by clicking on a little red compass rose on the screen. Stalking has never been so easy. By simply hitting the yellow start bar, an amateur spy can direct the camera for 60 seconds. For monopolizing control with ease, try using the site in the early evening. As the night creeps on, procrastinators abound and the competition increases for the minute opportunity in the directoris chair. The view spans from Straus Hall to Abercrombie and the crosswalk in front of it, and the camera can zoom close enough to recognize faces and legs as they saunter across Mass. Ave.

The site is linked to http://www.basict.com.basict.main.htm, which has similar cameras set up in cities such as London, Washington D.C., and San Francisco. The Harvard Square camera peers from the office of Car Talk, a national radio show and newspaper column, and can be accessed from their website. Along with auto-related humor and more off-the-wall topics, Car Talk hosts Tom and Ray explain on the link that the camera mimics their daily activity: staring numbly out of their window. And when the voyeuristic entertainment loses its thrill, thereis always Time Kill Central (http://cartalk.cars.com/Time-Kill/), another wonderful discovery for the Harvard procrastophile. Described by its creators as ia collection of dumb stuff to do, fascinating things to read, and high quality interactive distractions of all kinds,i the site includes iThe Tow Truck Driveris Guide To Great Literaturei and a nasty mail generator for scribing vicious letters to vile scum.

Next time youire out and about, hoping no one sees you sneaking into Pacific Sunwear, know that you are not alone.

oKristin L. Rakowski