The chatter among the classes these days centers on clouds – cloud computing to be specific.

Larry Ellison of Oracle and Steve Ballmer of Microsoft have talked about the concept.

I think I have enough understanding about the concept to ask: What would go into the clouds?

With that in mind, I looked at some everyday storage systems, which one day might ascend into the sky.

I’m not completely sure whether everything I looked at will move to the cloud structure. But it was fun keeping my eyes open as to what might go there.

At a public library, magazines – including the soon-to-close Far Eastern Economic Review – sit on a rack, ready for patrons to read them.

Flip the rack up and underneath are older copies of each magazine.

These days, the memory stick is a popular storage system for young and old.

At a nearby Post Office, I came across boxes that you can rent and hold your mail (top photo).

But I also spotted two 2004 zip code books from the U.S. Postal Service. I realize not everyone uses the Post Office’s online zip code lookup service.

So on this page from one of those books, you can see that both Egret Cove Drive and Egret Cove Lane have the same zip code of 33411.

At an Asian supermarket, a huge tub holding soybeans that were selling for 79 cents per pound sat near bags of rice.

The final question: What will eventually go into the clouds?

Like everyone else, I’ll be watching.

Oh, yes. My son learns a great deal by reading books. My wife and I learn a lot, too.

We bought him Clouds written by Anne Rockwell and illustrated by Frane Lessac.

In it – and this is good for the coming winter months – we learned that clouds that bring rain or snow are only about two miles above Earth.

Specifically, keep an eye in the sky for nimbostratus and cumulonimbus clouds.

From Clouds:

‘Nimbo’ or ‘nimbus’ in a cloud’s name means it is a storm cloud. Nimbostratus clouds are dark gray and ragged looking at the bottom. Rain or snow falls steadily from them.