Random Access

Today is September 11th, 2002.

Here is what I had to say about the day last year.

I don’t think that it is right to call it “Patriot Day” for the reasons outlined in last night’s post. But we should not forget what happened nor should we forget those who perished.

We should also not forget that just because people are different from us – by virtue of race, creed or color – that they are not automatically “against us.” America was established as a country where the freedom to be different and to disagree with our countrymen were not seen as “bad things” (…unless you lived in Salem, MA and were thought to be a witch, but that’s another story).

We call ourselves “…the land of the free and the home of the brave.” I would say that we should challenge ourselves to be brave in ways that we might not have considered before:

• We should be brave enough to remember that we are not alone in the world.
• We should be brave enough to know that there are those who do not like us because of the very freedoms that we espouse.
• We should be brave enough to not only uphold our rights to be free, but also to help, not impose our concept of freedom upon, those who wish to be free.
• And, most importantly, we should be brave enough to remember that we, the American people, are a diverse people. We may be united under a common banner, but we are not all the same. We should respect each others’ rights to be different and that it is alright to have divergent viewpoints.

Peace.

Tuesday
Average day. Nothing special.

NPR/PRI
The World: New American Embassy in Nairobi
The World: War on Terrorism
The World: Chelsea Jeans Store… and Museum
Talk of the Nation: The United States as an Empire, Revisited
Talk of the Nation: What Makes a Leader?
All Things Considered: Historical Hindsight
All Things Considered: 1991 Pre-Gulf War Debate
All Things Considered: Sonic Memorial Project: A September Story
(As of 22:15 MDT on 10 Sept 02, there seems to be a problem with the Talk of the Nation and All Things Considered RealAudio links.)

Tonight’s Soapbox
Tomorrow will be the first celebration of “Patriot Day.” While I think that the victims of the events of last September 11th should be remembered, I’m not sure that “Patriot Day” is the most… appropriate… name for the day. As my friend Steve would say, the name caters to good old American jingoism. I would have to agree. Don’t misunderstand me: I am proud to be an American citizen. I just don’t think that we, as a nation, should be so egocentric about the “holiday.” It was a tragedy that occurred on American soil. That is a fact, no problem there. It bears remembering. This goes without question. It was also a tragedy that had global impact and ramifications. That is something that should not be forgotten… especially before we slap a “Made in the U.S.A.” sticker on it.

Correct me if I am wrong, but weren’t they called the World Trade towers? World Trade. Let’s look at that. “World trade.” “International commerce.” Yes, they were in New York. Yes, many American companies had offices there. But, there were also international citizens and businesses in the buildings. What about them? Are they being categorically grouped as “honorary American patriots” for the day? I don’t get it.

And, another thing: What makes this a “patriotic” day? I don’t get that, either. We didn’t fight against an invading army. We didn’t make a heroic stand in the heat of battle. We were attacked. We were stunned. We were caught in a situation that no one would have expected, other than in the pages of a spy thriller or on the movie screen.

Tomorrow is the anniversary of a historic event. A tragic event in history. Not just American history, but in world history. As you take time to remember what happened, please also remember that Americans were not the only ones affected by it. In a case such as this, it is important to remember that. Lives were lost. Needlessly. That’s the bottom line.

Peace.

Monday
Average day. Nothing out of the ordinary at work.

NPR/PRI Stories
The World: Egyptians’ Reactions to Americans’ Thoughts about al-Qaeda
The World: Pakistan President Mushaffaf at Harvard
The World: Muslims in Leicester, England
The World: Indian Widows/Widowers of the September 11 Attacks
Talk of the Nation: Federal Judicial Nominations
Talk of the Nation: Changing U.S. Coin Design
Talk of the Nation: Pauline Kael / Film Criticism
All Things Considered: HMOs and Medicare
All Things Considered: Going It Alone on Foreign Policy (Part 1)
All Things Considered: Going It Alone on Foreign Policy (Part 2)
All Things Considered: Lost City Uncovered

That’s pretty much it. And don’t forget to check ‘s journal for up-to-the-entry updates on the latest LJWF action.

Peace.

You know that it’s shaping up to be a good day when the first thing that you do, when getting out of bed, is to slam your knee into the corner of the nightstand. Of course, it could also be the worst thing that happens. Hopefully, that’s the case.

Going to the gym always seems like a good idea… until you remember that you haven’t been going regularly for the past few months. But, that thought doesn’t cross your mind until you get about one-third to halfway through your workout. At that point, it goes from “This will be good for me” to “When the Hell did I become a masochist?!?”

If I were a member of the LiveJornal Wrestling Federation (LJWF), I’d probably have a life similar to the one that chronicles in his journal. It seems that I held the “Hardcore Champion” title… but lost it in a surprise attack on the way back to the locker room. Isn’t that the way it always goes? *sigh* However, that just gives me more time to work up a new, secret finishing move. And with that, I shall be able to regain the title.

Time for work.

Peace.

Is Harvard really so hard-pressed for publicity that they need to have their name attached to really horrid-looking movies like “How High” and “Stealing Harvard?” I remember that it was one of the “Holy Grails” of higher education when I was growing up and in high school. To have come to this…? I fear it’s another sign that we have taken another circle around the drain.

Quote of the Day
[21:22] Goldsaq Blaqman!
[21:22] ShadoRunr …and his trusty sidekick: Preppy, the Whitebread Wonder
[21:23] Goldsaq aka Whitey!

Peace.

Something that made this a good day was the ability to do some major sleeping in. Verra good, indeed. For some reason, during moment of semi-lucidity, I woke up and thought that I had overslept for work. After some mental gymnastics, I deduced that it was “Sunday” and not “Monday,” I rolled over, curled up in the blankets and zoned out again.

Football!
Today was opening day for the season. Baltimore played Carolina and lost. Although, I can’t be too upset about that: The Ravens may be my #1 team, but Panthers are #2… besides, after the past few seasons that Carolina has had, I am just glad to see them with a game in the “W” column. Miami (my #3 team) seems to have whooped-up on Detroit. So, my teams are 2 – 1 on the day. I can live with that.

While watching the end of the Minnesota-Chicago game, I managed to get an AIM client working under Linux. Simple pleasure, but an accomplishment nonetheless.

What’s on tap for the rest of the day? Not sure yet. But, after a good night’s morning’s sleep and some gridiron action, I think that I’m ready for pretty much anything.

Peace.

Saturday
Good day. Very good day.

The discussion went well. Quite well, in fact. It lasted about 3 hours (give or take). There were seven of us and, once again, everyone participated. That’s a good thing. We went from the restaurant (inside, where we ate, to their patio) to Borders. I might go into more detail about it tomorrow. Suffice if to say: I was pleased with the way it turned out and those who attended said that they enjoyed the opportunity to express their opinions and to hear others’ thoughts, as well. Hoo-AH!

Bowling was good, too. Larry, Matt, Scott and I bowled while Jess formed our cheering section. We had the traditional post-bowling feast at V.I.

After I came home, I figured out (with some online assistance from Larry) how to add mountpoints and mount another hard drive to my Linux system! Now, I have access to all of the files that I use under Windows. Basically, this just means that I can get to my mp3s from Linux now!

It’s been a long day and I need sleep. Lots of it. In fact, I think that I shall get some sleep now.

Peace.

Friday
Not too bad. After all, it was the end of the work week… and that’s never a bad thing.

NPR/PRI Stories
The World: North Korean Refugees
TotN – Science Friday: Psychological Effects of 9-11 (No audio available)
TotN – Science Friday: Technology and Engineering (No audio available)
All Things Considered: Central Park Jogger Case
All Things Considered: Photography (Commentary)
All Things Considered: C.P.E. Bach Sonatas and Rondos
All Things Considered: Jobless Report
All Things Considered: Louisiana Wetlands

Enough lollygagging…
I should finish getting my notes ready for tomorrow’s… well, I guess that should be “today’s”… lunch discussion. If it goes half as well as the last one, then it will be good. Some of the same people will be there, but there will also be a few new faces; the viewpoints should be similarly diverse.

Peace.

Because news sources just can’t get enough of that pesky Northern Snakehead, this is for and .

Thursday
Another day in Paradise.

NPR/PRI Stories
Talk of the Nation: Update on Al-Qaeda
Talk of the Nation: Iraq
Talk of the Nation: Crawfish: A Noun and a Verb?
All Things Considered: ‘Element 118’ Fraud

Last year, physicists at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab in California announced they had manufactured an entirely new chemical element. It was the fattest atom yet to be added to the periodic table. Only, it turns out that the evidence for Element 118 was completely fabricated. At least that is the conclusion of an internal report by the lab. The scientist fingered in the investigation insists he did nothing wrong. NPR’s David Kestenbaum has the strange story of the atom that wasn’t

All Things Considered: “No Parole” Policy Challenged
All Things Considered: Health Insurance Costs
All Things Considered: Mortgage Rates

Hmmm…
I don’t think that I have anything to rant about tonight. I think that I got it all out of my system this morning.

I do, however, need to put some notes together for the lunch discussion that I am hosting on Saturday; this time, our topic is “September 11: One Year Later” We’re going to discuss how our lives, as individuals and as a country, have changed over the past year. We’re also going to expand the discussion to cover stereotypes and misconceptions about peoples’ differences (race, religion, and other categories).

Peace.

On Tuesday, I heard a story on the local NPR station that seemed to defy all logic and reason. The mayor of Salt Lake City, Rocky Anderson, is attempting to get a bill passed that will make permit trains to pass through an area in/near downtown SLC without having to sound their horns! The line in question hasn’t been used in roughly three (3) years, but with the renovations to downtown SLC, Union Pacific Railroad has been running “test trains” to determine whether or not to reopen the line. Some of the issues that this raises are:

• It crosses a fairly major street;
• Part of the area is zoned as residential;
• Federal laws mandate that trains must sound their horns when approaching ALL rail/road crossings. (Sidebar: They blow the letter “Q” in the Morse Code – the Doppler Effect allows one to determine how far the engine is from the intersection.)

So far, I haven’t been able to find any articles that reference the “no-horn” proposal, but here are some related links to the issue:

• Salt Lake City News & Issues
• Minutes of City Council of Salt Lake City Meeting (02 July 02)
• Salt Lake Tribune Article (07 July 02)
• Altamont Press – Railroad Newsline

::: boggle :::
This is something that I’m going to keep an eye on. It will be interesting to see how it develops as a resident of the greater SLC metro area and as a train buff. Also, it bears watching to see if Union Pacific is willing to make any accomodations or concessions for the residents of the area who were told that the line was not going to be reactivated.

Meanwhile…
From : “…would anyone be interested in a genuine compliment? Im feeling nice today. ”

[09:52] ShadoRunr: What’s the catch….?
[09:52] ShadoRunr: 😉
[09:52] THE niliyo: lol
[09:52] THE niliyo: hmm
[09:52] THE niliyo: nothing
[09:53] THE niliyo: maybe a lil sarcasm here n there but that’s normal
[09:53] ShadoRunr: Wow.
[09:53] ShadoRunr: Sign me up, then!
[09:53] THE niliyo: cant be sure if youll get a real one or a sarcastic one tho
[09:53] THE niliyo: u sure?
[09:54] ShadoRunr: Are you kidding?!!? If I can drive to Vegas to take my chances on roulette in Caesar’s Palace, what have I got to lose by asking for a comment?
[09:57] ShadoRunr: ….besides, I trust you.
[09:57] ShadoRunr: ::: genuflect :::
[09:57] THE niliyo: ok then
[09:58] THE niliyo: you have nice hair

Wednesday
I spent most of the day in flats processing. Good thing. It was Salt Lake flats, so it was something of a mixed blessing. Not-as-good thing, but easily dealt with. It was yet another uneventful day.

After work, I headed to the B&N at The Gateway (again). Tonight, I found an ornithology book that had exactly what I was looking for last night: Pictures of wing and feather structure/placement. Perfect. I made a quick drawing of an extended wing and a few figure poses from the new Sports Illustrated “Best of the Century” (or something like that) photo-mag. And enjoyed a tasty Mocha Frappuchino.

NPR/PRI Stories
The World: Muslims in Denmark
The World: Ice Cream Flavors
The World: Global Hit: Seiko Matsuda
Talk of the Nation: Relationship Disorders
Talk of the Nation: Thomas Mudd
Talk of the Nation: Vocational Education
All Things Considered: Infertility Ads
All Things Considered: The Hank Dogs
All Things Considered: Vegas Bookies and the UNLV/Wisconsin Football Game
All Things Considered: ‘Snitchers’

Fresh Air had a 40-minute interview with David Bowie today! I would have posted a link to the conversation, but “The audio for this segment is unavailable due to Internet rights issues,” according to the Fresh Air website. I even checked BowieNet, but the only thing that they had listed was a post stating that he would be on the show.

::: shakes fist :::
And with that…. goodnight.

Peace.

Tuesday
Average day – aside from the fact that we had to wait for mail to process. Oh, the joys of working the day after a holiday… So, we waited. For about an hour. Then the mail came. Sporadically.

After work, I headed to the downtown B&N and did some drawing. I wanted to do a little more work on something that I started yesterday afternoon, but I needed reference material.

NPR/PRI Stories
The World: Oxford Dictionary of Modern Quotations
The World: Macbeth in Hanoi
Talk of the Nation: Schools’ Roles in Dealing with Obesity in Children
Talk of the Nation: 2002 Election Predictions
All Things Considered: A Year in Pakistan
All Things Considered: Survivor

This is a story about a young sailor from the Deep South, and the experience that changed his life. Lanier Philips was on a U.S. Navy ship wrecked during a vicious storm off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada during World War II. More than 200 of Philips’ shipmates died, but he was rescued. The kind treatment Philips received as he recuperated forever altered his life, opening his eyes to the possibility of a world without racism. Producer Chris Brookes has the extraordinary story of Lanier Philips. (22:00)

(Note: This was an amazing story. I highly recommend that everyone listen to it.)

Peace.

Monday
It was a relaxing day off. I slept in. Went to Borders to get a little drawrin’ done. And headed to Jess’ parents’ for a little while. Even got to roughhouse with her nephews (7,6, and 4 years old).

On the way home, we saw four missionaries walking through our complex. How do I know that they were missionaries? Trust me: after living here, you pick up on a few things. Of course, the black pants, white shirts, black ties and name tags didn’t hurt. This is the first thing that came to mind:

Coming soon…. to a neighborhood near you…

Young Men in Black (and White).
Coming to make your homes safe from sin.
Spreading the Gospel and kicking some unholy… butt.

They are… Elder Force: Men on Bikes.

It reminded me of this, which I wrote a couple of years ago. Silly? Maybe. Irreverent? Hmm. Hopefully not too much. Fun to write… rewrite… re-rewrite? You betcha!

Anywho, now that I’ve had time to watch the Sisko and the Janeway/Barbie Borg Shows, along with a bowl of tasty iced creams, I think I’ll get a few things ready for work tomorning.

And, finally…
For and : More Northern Snakehead goodness!

Peace.

Sunday
I was awakened by the phone this morning… at 09:13. And, by the time I answered, the caller had hung up. It was my father… so I called him back.

Dad: Good morning, what can I do for you?
Me: You called me.
Dad: (pause) I did?
Me: Yup.
Dad: I was trying to call Mr. Brooks (an associate of Dad’s). I thought that I looked at the number that came up… I guess I goofed.

It wasn’t a critical error, and these things do happen. So, after I talked to him, I went back to sleep. I called my mom and my uncle, later in the day, to catch up on the N.C. and N.Y. news fronts.

Baseball is good.
Jess and I had fun at the game. We had seats on the lower level, down the 3rd base line. We had hot dogs and lemonade. We watched baseball. It was cool. Just what a lazy summer Sunday afternoon should be like. The Stingers lost to the (Memphis) Redbirds, but it didn’t matter – the Stingers had already clinched a spot in the playoffs.

On the way to the game, I stopped at the comic shop to see if they had a copy of Fantastic Four (3rd series), #9. Since Talk of the Nation’s Neal Conan was in town and calling the game, I figured that I’d try to get the issue signed by him. Why would I want a talk radio host/reporter to sign my comic?

1. “Just because…”
2. He, or rather his 2-D counterpart, appears in the book. (He is a friend of Chris Claremont, who was writing the book at the time.)
3. He suggested that issue to me in an email a couple of months ago. (I also have a couple of issues of Uncanny X-Men that he appeared in, when Claremont wrote that series.)
4. He was in town and it seemed like a good opportunity.

But, the store was sold out. So… I will have to go through my collection at Dad’s and dig out my copy and send it to NPR.

After the game, we came home and basically did nothing. And it was good. I got my doses of Old Trek (Enterprise) and the Sisko Show. I even watched Stargate SG-1 to bat the cycle on getting my geek fix. Well, I did accomplish something: I uploaded the pictures from my camera to the PC, retouched them… and even managed to post the pics of Courtney, as intended.

Peace.