Now juxtapose that with the calculated universe of Wolfram or Casey or whomever.
From here, it looks like they dovetail quite nicely. God, I wish I had the chops to really understand this stuff. I get fuzzy general ideas about it, but have no tools to really dig in.
At 11:50 last night, I got a phone call from B-, wishing me Happy Birthday. We chatted briefly, and I returned the wish, because of course we were born on the same day (10 years apart). I was surprised and pleased by the gesture, and grateful that it didn't stir me up as much as it might have.
But I do still love the sound of his voice, slightly raspy and warm as cocoa.
6:47:04 PM
Fear of 9/11
I know it's irrational. I know it doesn't do any good. But as time goes by I find myself getting more and more anxious about the anniversary.
I think most of the country has no idea of the impact that day had on Washington, DC. People were (understandably) more focused on the Twin Towers ~ certainly the images coming out of NYC were much more dramatic, and the loss of life was greater.
But here in DC, we were hit in the gut too: the greatest symbol of military superiority we have burned for 10 days. Our airport was the last in the nation to reopen. And the anthrax attacks took a much greater toll on productivity and lives here than anywhere else.
If I were a terrorist, I would be planning to smack us again, and smack us hard, on September 11. What better way to convey the message that we haven't achieved any lasting victory over terrorism?
I had dinner with an ex-boyfriend who's been consulting heavily with the military in the last year (he's a scientist). He tried to assure me that the true poop is that Al-Qaeda is all washed up, routed, dismantled, destroyed. They couldn't possibly mount an attack on the scale of the World Trade Center now, he claims. My immediate cynical response was to then question why we've got this monstrous civil-rights-devouring Homeland Security juggernaut in place... to which he gave me an equally cynical raised eyebrow. But despite my belief that he was telling me what he thinks is the truth, I don't accept that there's no organization out there capable of delivering another mighty wallop to our self-image, our confidence, and our economy. Not to mention global political stability.
I've got a pretty lively imagination, and I can think of plenty of profoundly disruptive things that could be implemented with remarkably little overhead in materiel or personnel. And I'm not in the slightest bit motivated to do so. (Quite the contrary, of course.) For a motivated person or group, I'm having a hard time seeing what the real barriers are. Granted, it's not going to be planes. But that's hardly the only option.
I'm unhappy with myself for being so gloomy and frightened. And I hope I'm wrong wrong wrong.
[Update: Oh goody. Nothing like throwing gasoline on the fire. You be the judge ~ is the timing of the discovery of these tapes coincidental?]
6:35:25 PM
Unintended Bump
Somehow I managed to delete The Mariana Wrench from my blogroll by accident. It's herewith restored.
Sorry about that, Rouslan, no diss intended.
4:30:49 PM
The Newest Apple Rumor Site
That would be The New York Times! Man, you know speculation has reached a fever pitch, when the Gray Lady starts hyping the iPhone.
All Mr. Jobs would say on the matter was that the cellphone computers already on the market fall far short, and that some of the user-interface and industrial design touches already evident in the iPod would be perfect for an improved, consumer-friendly version of such a product.
The day they come out with an Apple-branded phone/pda is the day I toss my Samsung/Sprint brick into the trash. Bring it on, baby!
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