I’ve just looked at the clock, and noticed that I should already be in bed by now. Instead, I have been staring at a computer screen, filtering through photos from a friend’s wedding, trying to get it down to a good number of great photos.

Staring at a screen until after I should already be in bed is an old habit of mine. Unfortunately, the Internet stays on all night, making the habit only worse here, in a world where I am spoiled with WiFi. When I was younger, this activity was time-limited. After a certain hour, the channel on the television would go off the air — but before they did so, they would play the national anthem.

I don’t know why they played the national anthem. I didn’t think much of it, then. I just figured that’s the way it is. The anthem was normally accompanied by some stock footage of a flag rippling in the breeze.

The Internet, it seems, needs such a signal, to tell us it’s time for bed.

Here you are, Internet:

You’ll have to hum the anthem to yourself.

To see this photo bigger, go see it on Flickr.