Hillsboro from POTS to broadband
Bill Sims Contributing columnist
They used to call it POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service). According to Wikipedia, this was the standard phone service offered between 1876 and 1988. Of course, that all began to unravel when we gave birth to digital services and what came to be known as the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) think copper wire vs. fiber optics and radio waves.
The problem with POTS was that rural communities had difficulty getting services. It’s like our experiences with cable networks. There was more profit installing cable infrastructure in densely populated communities. Early on, POTS actually stood for Post Office Telephone Services, where rural residents had to connect through their post offices.
Jef Rouner April 9, 2021
George Clooney in “The Men Who Stare at Goats.” Photo: Laura Macgruder
We’re in a golden age of galaxy-brained nuttery. Conspiracy theories abound, from Jewish space lasers setting California on fire to satanic pizza parlors where children are available as toppings.
There has never been a better time to sell tinfoil hats, but it’s also terrifying, as we saw during the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Here are five films that help make sense of the nonsense. They poke fun, prod at the truth and, at times, seek to understand the people who fall prey to ridiculous and dangerous ideas.