Musings on education, techology, and life..
Discovered a fun little page to create your own O’Reilly book cover courtesy of Acetylene.Net (home of Nicholas, my Secret Santa this year– thanks, Nicholas!) All of you: go check out his weblog now… it’s cool.
Came across two stories today having to do with music, jazz, and health. The first tells the sad story of Roy Brooks– will he be able to stand up to his personal demons? The second is an interesting look at music and Alzheimer’s patients.
Somewhere else, someone posted this link with the title Memories of a Vanished Life and I can think of nothing more apt. Paul Battaglia was killed in the WTC attacks. His web site is still there, including views of/from his 100th floor office that he was rightly proud of, and a guestbook dating back to before the attacks.
I thought I was lucky not to have lost anyone in the attacks. This site makes me really realize that we all lost someone… some people just don’t really realize it yet.
Paul Battaglia was not a hero, a saint, a superman, or the subject of a segment on Sixty Minutes… he was just a good man who worked hard at school, got a good job, and went to work every day just like most of us. He took trips, kept a journal, posted photos, surfed the web– the same things I do every day. Then one day he went to work and in a moment he was gone. It gets no simpler than that. Not easy, but simple. An event with an unearthly clarity.
What about you? What would you leave behind if you were gone next week? You remember those things you were mad about today or yesterday? Your anger with a friend or family member? Your frustration with your job, your weight, your hobby, your art? Forget them. Now.
Yes, I’m back. I never really left, but I did decided to take some time away from the computer (at least to the degree possible) for the holiday. I couldn’t avoid as much work as I wanted, but I did OK. Hard to believe after all that waiting that the holiday is almost over. I got some cool loot and gave some cool loot away, spent a lot of time with my wife and children, read a good book, watched some good movies, and tried hard not to worry about what the coming year might bring. That’s a victory for me!
I’m still here, but with an extremely packed schedule I haven’t found much time to do updates. I’m working on a few things for the site, though, so keep your eyes open!
Until then, here are a few very interesting links:
Why is it that I get an urge to giggle and then cry anytime I hear George Bush begin a sentence with “I have concluded” or “I have determined”? Apparently Bush, despite his negative IQ, has determined that the ABM Treaty is no longer applicable. I have a hard time believing he could understand the sentence I have just written, much less the nuances of a 30 year old global treaty. At the very least he should be honest and preface every statement with the word “we” so that the people who are actually doing the thinking and making the decisions for him get some credit!
This is one of the more interesting idedas I’ve seen in a while… industrial art, I guess
The Mayfly project: sum up the year 2001 in 20 words or less. If not there, for yourself.
My kids love the Series of Unfortunate Events books by Lemonny Snicket… now learn a little more about the mysterious author.
Add the sound of your voice to ways people can find to discriminate against you. A cool quiz before you start to see how good you REALLY are at choosing ethnicity based on a voice alone.