Recently in Memories Category

Those who have been here awhile have heard the story. Those who have not, or who are new, are in for a little education. The thing is, the story of the founding of Geek Blog is connected completely with the events of 4 years ago. I had the day off from the post secondary institution I attended then, due to a MUUG meeting, so I slept in. I woke up, hit the shower, all your normal wake up routines. At the time I had cable, but my TV was almost entirely on CMT, unless there was a TechTV show on I was planning to watch. I turned on the TV when I got to the computer(yes, my computer has always been in my living room since the first place I lived alone in) and began enjoying the music videos.

I opened up my notepad, posting on my site then, in a Daynotes type journal I kept, and uploaded the post. I then proceeded to check my email. I scrolled through a few, deleting spam here and there, and came across one that I thought at first was spam, but I took a second look at it. I had signed up for a trial of Coffee Cup software about 2 or 3 weeks before, and had apparently been added to their mailing database. This email turned out to be from the President of Coffee Cup Software, and it told of his anger at the attacks on his country, and went on to encourage relief for the area.

Being that I had not heard of the events yet, I was highly confused by this information, and unsure what this person was talking about. I read it over and over, trying to make some sense of the words. After about 2 minutes, I gave up and decided that if any country had been attacked, it would be on CNN, so I flipped to the station that was the center of the new that day. Just as I tuned in, they were cutting from what looked like a fireball to New York, where the first tower to fall was just beginning to crumble. A book I read recently said that there is a habit in the mind to try to avoid seeing the truth, especially if what is there is too hard to accept. I had such a moment.

I thought 'it's gotta be special effects. Then I saw CNN showing people jumping from the hole in the side of the last remaining tower, and my blood went cold. No one would jump from such a tall building, facing certain death instead of the possible long ans painful death of being trapped under tonnes of debris. I knew then that this was no movie, no special effects. I watched with rapt attention for the next few minutes, absorbing the situation, the facts, the info that had come out, and so on.

I then began to update my journal, which was very difficult as I had to open up notepad, and write, then code, then FTP. It became very cumbersome, and hard to update often enough. It seemed that before I was done FTPing the first bit of info, I was forced to write a new one and begin FTPing it. Once the two towers had fallen, the word had come on the other two planes, the one to hit the Pentagon and the one to crash in Pennsylvania. As the news of the day began to dwindle into repeating stuff I already knew, I began to check out other sites. A few of the Daynote gang had updated their sites, some with highly inflammatory words, others with shock, concern, and sadness. I was surprised very little with the words I saw, and who they came from.

Shortly before this day, in fact less than a week, one of the Daynoters had led me to a couple of sites where the writings of Dave Winer and Doc Searls could be found. These were guys who were infinitely smarter than me, and could write like the professionals they were. I was awed by them, and bookmarked them right away. They were, you could say, my doorway into the Blogging world. I saw how quickly, how easily their sites were updated. They had a well honed collection of sites and contacts, many of whom they were able to tap for information.

11 days after September 11th, I signed up for a Blogger account, and began Blogging at a sub folder of my web site at the time. That led, eventually, to Geek Blog 2.3, the site you see before you. 4 years and over 4000 posts later(discounting the 4 months I lost) and this has been the most interesting, rewarding, and educational experience I have ever had. Sadly, it is also a site, an endeavour, that will for as long as it is around will be connected undeniably to a tragic, earth shaking event in the worlds history. Geek Blog is one of those few good things that have come from that day, those events. I raise a glass to those lost, to those who survived, to those who have been affected.

I was born in the late 70's, nearly a decade after Star Trek, the Original Series as it has come to be known, went off the air. However, as many others around the world, I grew up knowing the term 'Scotty, Beam me Up' as well as my parents, who would have been in their prime TV watching when it was in it's first airing. It is, as a Geek and a fan of Star Trek, with a heavy heart I big a fond farewell to James Doohan, who played Scotty through the series and more than half of the Star Trek movies, and a guest appearance as his TOS character on Star Trek: The Next Generation, the series that kicked off the resurgence of Star Trek, which recently ended with the cancellation of Enterprise. Star Trek will never be the same without you, Scotty. He was 85.

I don't recall when I first heard of Jef Raskin. It could have been when, in the early 90's, I was trying to look into the history of the PC market, the wars between Microsoft and all those who wanted to beat them, even if it was temporarily. I read about Netscape, I read about Apple, and I read about Linux. Apple was the first to take on Microsoft. They tried to work with them, and failed. Those old arguments are not for this, though. In those days, when that battle began, the Macintosh was beginning, and Jef Raskin began to be a name in computers. The first time I recall seeing Jef Raskin was a year or two ago when some of the members of the old Homebrew Computer Club went on the air on TechTV(BC) and talked about the beginning.

Jef Raskin is credited with naming the Macintosh, and with dedicating his life to improving the user interface. This is something that those of us who bow graciously to those who preceded us will have to accept, that our heroes and our predecessors will pass one by one. Woz will one day pass, as will Jobs, Gates, Allen, and many of the lesser known names like some of those in the Homebrew that while some may not know of them, their names are part of the history of the technology we use. Jef Raskin will forever be well known, though his accomplishments were overshadowed by the bigger names around him. I hope his passing will allow him, and his vision, to shine for a little while longer, so that maybe people might one day bring his dreams to life.

I recall when I was listening to music, my parents said they missed the days when it wasn't just noise, instead it was real art. Well, I now find myself at a much younger age than they were truly missing when music meant something. Music as an art is long past, only following 09.11 was their a resurgence of music that meant something, the years before and the few since have, in my opinion, been a wash. The only song that comes to mind when I think of music with meaning, music as an art, that I have heard in the last 12 months has been Johnny Cash's rendition of Hurt. Cash made great music, and he sang with a passion that has rarely been equalled, and never surpassed. Toby Keith is an artist now that has the ability to bring passion and art to music.

Alan Jackson, Alabama, these are others even though Alabama has stopped making new music. There are dozens of new artists a month, and few have the ability to write good music, and fewer even who can put passion in the music they sing. There is a song on the radio, Streets of Heaven by Sherrie Austin, and that is one song that is sung with passion, and heart, and is one that is enough to bring a tear to the eye of the listener, one that invokes emotion in the listener. I miss these days, when one could realistically see themselves in the place of the singer in the tale, when one would actually feel the song. These times do exist, but they are far fewer than I can ever recall. The problem is evident, and the source and chief cause is clear, though a solution is not.

The problem is an industry that has grown lazy, weak and far too comfortable making bad music. The days of a CD full of good songs are gone past, and artists who once aimed to make every song the absolute best have slowly been convinced to increase the so called B-side material to the point it seems to have taken over the albums that are created and currently it is considered a good album if there are two or three decent tracks. There was a time when Joe Satriani and Steve Vai were the kings of guitar, now we are lucky to get the once had talent but now are only fit for a lounge act players. We once had great voices that could carry a tune all the way from LA to New York, now the tun couldn't be carried in an armoured truck by the so called stars.

Talent and artistry once meant something, but somewhere around the Beatles the consumer lost control, and the labels took over. The created copies of that which was great, new, fresh and style changing, and it has only become worse. It is the same in rap, country, and whatever they call rock these days. I grew up listening to The Gambler, The Guess Who's greatest hits, and Johnny Horton. Now I listen to a dozen copies of Billy Ray Cyrus, and he himself who's ability has not changed since Achy Breaky Heart. I see Dozens of copies for every age of the New Kids on The Block, which weren't that good themselves. I see Britney, Shania, and others who sell a 'style' and an 'attitude' that really means they sell their Tits and their Ass.

I hope to one day see real artists making music again, but I fear it will not happen until it takes real effort to get into music, not just the ability to be a copy of an original. Amanda Stott has a lot of talent, but all the videos I see by her it is clear of one thing. They are trying to make her sensual and attractive, or at least however much they can for her age. Don't get me wrong, she is attractive, but I want to hear music, not see her strutting down a country road in tight pants and a halter top. I honestly think that the music video killed the music. Before people could be seen on millions of TV's worldwide and the visual was as or more important than the talent, the talent was king. I once heard it said that Roosevelt would never have had a chance at the White House if he ran today.

I think the reverse should be applied. I do not care if a person is black or white, full figured or totally disfigured. I don't give a damn if the person is Christian, Islamic, or Jew. It does not matter to me if a person has the perfect body, or is fatter than the Goodyear blimp. Perhaps I am alone in this, but Rita McNeil was an awesome vocalist, but ridicule for her weight caused the younger generation of Canadian to shy away from her music, and make rude and cruel jokes. Britney Spears has no vocal talent, but has a body that most men would love to have in their beds, and girls feel the stupid need to imitate, and she is rich off this and this alone. There is something wrong when the talented are shunned for the young and attractive, just as there is something fundamentally wrong with a CD for $20 that has one to three good songs.

Late in the day yesterday, word spread around the call center that Israel Asper had died. I hadn't heard, choosing when I woke up to watch the California Recall Circus(Congratulations Arnold) and because of the latter, CNN had no coverage of the former, though I doubt it is their kind of story. He is no John Ritter, Johnny Cash, or Bob Hope. The Winnipeg Sun today had 8 pages plus two pages worth of editorials on the loss of one the biggest media mogul's in this country. He grew up in Minnedosa, Manitoba, and went from being a lawyer to owning the CanWest Global television network, several news papers worldwide, and getting his name on more buildings in this city than anyone, but his name and face were well deserved, giving millions himself over the years.

This philanthropy did not stop there, though, with not less than three foundations giving enough money to more than overshadow the giving of the man himself. With the funeral scheduled for tomorrow, it is certain that many will attend, as his hand was felt by many in this city. Izzy Asper's friends, rivals, and even his sworn enemies have come out to praise him for what he became, and there are so many ways that what he did will affect me that the name Israel Asper will not be lost on the lips of Winnipegger's for many years. CanWest Global Ball park, the Winnipeg Goldeyes, the planned Human Rights Museum at The Forks, focusing on the atrocities done to people of Asper's faith, Jewish, and more. Asper was 71, though his legacy will last much longer.

If the goal of the retrospective displayed at the Emmy Awards last night was meant to make people think and ponder on all the great actors and actresses that have passed in the last year, it has been a success, at least with me. A year is a long time. Eternal it would seem. It is easy with the number of days in a year to lose track of those who pass on over that span. Bob Hope. Fred Rogers. More recently Johnny Cash, Charles Bronson, and John Ritter passed before us. Katherine Hepburn is another. The look back took a long time tonight, and seemed endless. Johhny Cash got the most applause to that point. Fred Rogers, last, got the ultimate loudest. It was a sad thing, you know, to see those who were on the screen and behind the camera on some truly great TV and films.

I just got a Breaking News email from CNN that Johnny Cash has passed away in Nashville at the age of 71. Upon looking at the site I also see that John Ritter also died in the last few hours. Ritter apparently collapsed while rehearsing for his ABC show, and he died a few hours after he collapsed on the set. Cash appears to have died from complications from his diabetes, which was surely not helped by his heavy alcohol and drug use. Cash was said by friends to have not been the same since his wife June died. I grew up knowing Cash's name very well, and I grew up watching Ritter on TV in Three's Company. This is a sad day for me, and after a day spent remembering the victims of September 11 2 years ago, this week has truly become a very sad one. Johnny, your fans now truly Hurt.

Today the world, or more specifically the USA, is marking what they have come to call their darkest day since Pearl Harbour. I find myself listening to songs and watching music videos of songs dedicated to that day. From the serene and thoughtful, to the aggressive and instigating. Toby Keith's My List and Alan Jackson's Where were you, to Toby Keith's Angry American and Darryl Worley's Have you Forgotten. Two strong contrasts, one type wondering what the reaction should be, the other taking the strongest possible reaction and amplifying it. I am left wondering what, 2 years later and two wars later, the world and the US should be thinking, doing, and remembering. To some the memories are that which will flash on our screen, to others, the images of the wars that followed.

I wonder what great men would think about the ensuing activities both in and outside the US. Would Martin Luther King have wanted the war against Iraq when it is clear the reasons for going were void. It would seem, of course, that hindsight is 20/20, but I doubt that even if foresight had been as clear that anything would have changed. The US is bent on stomping out all threats that have an even modest benefit to themselves, and as soon as the reward is diminished they are happy to bring in others to share the burden. I do not mean to diminish the memory of this day, simply make sure everyone remembers what has been lost since that day, and while it may not be counted in lives, just as it was done post Pearl Harbour to the Japanese, those who could be named as an enemy, have been, and those liberties that could be weakened, have.

So, in the April 2003 issue of Wired(cover) Wired magazine celebrates it's 10th year as a major source of news and discussion in technology. This article for the celebratory issue describes how the world was in April of 1993, a couple of years before I began reading, when the magazine was founded in San Francisco, before the dot-com boom and bust. I look forward to this issue, as the editors and founders of the magazine look back on the way things were and how things have changed, and stayed the same.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

- John McCrae

In the 100 years before, too many were lost. In 2001, too many more were lost. Too many innocents, too many lost sons, daughters, husbands, wives, grandfathers, grandmothers, brothers and sisters. This day is for them. See you tomorrow.

Yahoo! Living Tribute - We Remember is a very cool site that allows you to create and share a tile with everyone out there or give the world a chance to see your words. There are now hundred's of thousands of tiles on that site, and yes, it is a Yahoo site who gave a great homage to this day of memorial, but there are no ads and they allow free creation of tiles. I have never been a fan of Yahoo, and want to say that at least in this site, they have won my respect, though Google still has my allegiance even after apparently ignoring this day. I even created my own. If you create one and want to link it to mine, my tile # is 9abb4dac42.

I recall the first reaction by the President in public, and that was one of shock as his aide leaned over to inform him of the actions that day. I always wondered what he thought of that day, for I know I would have broken down in tears for all those lives lost. I wonder if he thought as his actions have shown, that he only thought of how he could use this to gain a grasp of the country, and make it more controlled. It is a bad thought, I am sure, but it is an honest one. :brian: has a post that starts out with "My heart is still broken". Another quote from his post: "They're finishing the job that the Terrorists started. They're taking away what it means to be an American. They whittle away at our rights, and our freedom and our privacy. They are terrorists, too." Well said.

Ok, we have heard a lot of ways different groups and people are going to commemorate this September 11th, from the city of New York's 102 minute ceremony to memorialize the day that can never be forgotten, to the Pentagon, who's only noticeable sign of change is that they recently reopened the damaged sections, with almost no differences in the offices by those who once resided there.

One group is doing an electronic memorial, with cell calls, email messages and pager messages that were all left on 09.11, simple emails like "I'm OK", and while it was short, must have been so sweet for those reading it. Read the piece, and I plan to keep you up to date as I read more, but you can be sure that the blogging community, which exploded and made itself well known that day, to be a part for sure.

So, it has come to light that most airlines, in the face of fearful Americans who are afraid of repeats of 09.11 on the one year anniversary, are canceling most of their flights for the 11th. I know that bin Laden and the rest of Al Queda aren't the brightest bulbs in the box, but they certainly are not going to do something like that on the same day they did so last year. They will, at best, strike a few days before, or a few days after, and at worst both. The war in Afghanistan is ending, the people have taken back control of their country, but the war with Al Queda has only just begun, and more lives will be lost. Al Queda is most certainly behind the attacks in Israel, and they will be the cause of more attacks on this continent. The US is still a very reactionary government, with too little preparation. Yes, they need to stop attacks before they happen, but they also need to keep the freedoms of the citizens.

In the many businesses involving attacking and defending, the best of the business know that to beat the attacker's you must think like them. Wise words, those are, though they are ignored by the majority as expressions of paranoia and fearfulness. Until such time as those trying to prevent terrorist attacks actually start thinking like the terrorists, there will never be an easy way to stop it. The only other way to stop terrorism is to lock down the country, stop all forms of travel, and remove all forms of weaponry, and even then you leave yourself open to importation of weaponry and stuff like that. Essentially, what I am saying, is that that there is no way we can stop terrorists, for every time we take away one avenue of attack,they will most certainly devise another dozen to foil them.

I know a post this late is odd, but I am just sitting here, watching the memorials and tributes to those who lost their lives one month ago today, and I find it hard to express the sadness and outrage that have welled up within me. The playing of Taps on the bugle has always sent a chill up my spine, as it signifies a lost life, a missing man for those of the military family, but this time the loss was greater then any other time it was played. I wish I could have both been there as the bugler, and be there for the bugler, as he must have been of mixed heart in his duty.

The honor of playing a tribute for all the great people, the future Nobel prize winners, the inventions and progress those people would have brought, and the loss to humanity that came with the attacks on the heartland of the world. The thoughts of those he was playing for would have been to much for me to bear personally, so for that he has my ultimate respect. The thousands who still remain, the few brought out, though not alive, is a shocking and disheartening number. My prayers go out to the lost and their friends and family. Your loss has given us all a renewed sense of community, both in North America and around the world.