It's all virtual, anyway.

Sometimes, I try to imagine a world in which everything is done through computers and no "real" money ever changes hands. Occasionally, I think about the steady march of technology and remember reading, ten or so years ago, about a day when paper money or coins would no longer exist, how everything would be done with electronic cards. This morning, I almost stopped in mid-stride when it struck me that that time is now. Already, most of my financial transactions are virtual. My paycheque is deposited directly in my bank account; I use my credit card for over half my purchases; my banking I do mainly over the phone. The numbers I punch in to pay off my credit card bill move electronic blips from my virtual account to wherever it is they go to cancel my virtual debt.

I'd never really thought of it that way before.