[X4U] Possibly OT: Static IP, what have you done for me lately?

[Tim Collier]

Dear List Members:

I'm pretty certain that this is off-topic but other might learn from  
your responses (especially me).  I'll start off by telling you why we  
have a static IP now.  We've had Comcast as our ISP for several years  
now and they go down occasionally.  Over the past week, they were  
down more than up and I was getting frustrated.  My wife and I talked  
it over and decided that we'd also sign up for BellSouth DSL.  The  
price was good and was not going to be a real burden just so if one  
goes down we still have the other.  OK, that said, part of  
BellSouth's package includes a Static IP address, it sounded like a  
good idea and I opted for it (it was free with my plan).
Now, we get to my question.  What can I actually do with it?  Can I  
run a website in my home?  Can I use some of those obscure protocols  
to connect to the house from outside?  Can any of you suggest other  
ways I might use this?
I'm at the point where I'm saying "cool, I have a static IP", but  
what can I do with it?

Tim