Bandwagon
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Steam Explosion in Midtown Manhattan
I’ll skip the prose, and get straight to the facts. I work at 605 Third Avenue in New York, at 40th Street and Third Avenue, on the 17th floor. That is exactly two blocks from the site of today’s burst steam pipe near Grand Central Station. My notes on the experience are as follows.
Shortly before 6pm, I was busy trying to wrap up my work for the day, when my co-worker, Lindsay, in the cube next to me said, “what’s that noise?” I hadn’t really noticed until she mentioned it, but there was an odd rumbling resonating through our building. It sounded like a mixture of thunder and a jet engine. What made it distinct, however, was there was no throbbing booms (like thunder) nor was there a traditional doppler affect noise (like there is with a moving jet plane). It was a steady consistent rumble.
The consistency of the noise eased my fears a little bit, since no bomb makes a prolonged noise like that. However, there was a lot of uneasiness, as others on my floor began to notice it too and also found it odd. I turned on the TV in a nearby office, and flipped through the local news. There were no breaking news reports from Midtown Manhattan, and a glance out the windows at the pedestrians below revealed nothing out of the ordinary.
Before sitting at my desk again and resuming work, I took a quick walk over to the opposite end of the office. The steady rumbling wasn’t going away, and I wandered around trying to find where it was coming from. Most everyone else on the floor had become aware of the noise. Suddenly, another co-worker frantically came down from the north west end of the office (the corner closest to Grand Central Station), saying, “there are people running on the street. They are running everywhere!”
It was right as he said this that I began hearing the sirens. Lots of sirens coming from every direction. I went back to the office where I had turned the TV on, and there was still no reporting on any situation in Midtown. We all found this insanely frustrating, because a fear for our lives was beginning to creep in, and we wanted information.
The conundrum that came over me had to do with what to do next. The rumbling, mixed with the sound of sirens, was becoming more ominous and threatening. Add in the fact that we had no idea what had happened and where it had happened, we all felt a little helpless. We weren’t sure if where we were in more danger, in the office, or on the street. The sight of people frantically running around below certainly didn’t make the decision any easier. But, I know we were all thinking of the collapse of the World Trade Center too, and instincts said “get out.”
Any concept of time was lost, but this whole thing couldn’t have gone on for more than ten minutes. Thankfully, a voice came on over the building loudspeaker, announcing that a steam explosion had occurred near the Chrysler building and that even though there was no immediate threat, we should evacuate the building. Within about ten minutes we had check all the offices and gotten everyone to head out. The elevators weren’t working, so we had to walk down the 17 flights.
We exited the building on 40th street between Third and Second Avenues. At the time, we had no idea that we were two blocks from the explosion. Everyone started walking East away from the amassing squad cars and fire trucks, but I had a FedEx package to drop of on Third Avenue. The authorities were not impeding my path to get there, so I proceeded in that direction. After leaving FedEx, I milled around a bit to observe the scene. At this point, no one had and idea what was going on. Some crowds were starting to gather, while other people were frantically trying to get out of there.
I tried calling my Mom in Wisconsin, who usually has the news on all day, but had a hard time getting through (not sure if there was too much cell phone traffic, or if some of the towers were out). Once I finally got through, I could barely hear her over the loud jet engine-like sound that was emanating from the Grand Central Station area. I shouted into my phone “Something happened near my office. It’s really loud and there are siren’s everywhere. I don’t know what’s going on!” I couldn’t hear exactly what she said in response, but she seemed remarkably calm, considering she was freaking out last fall when Cory Lidle crashed his plane into a building on the Upper East Side. I got the sense she was going to try to figure out what was happening.
I knew I should have tried to get out of there, but curiosity got the better of me, and I started wandering around trying to get a view of what was going on. It didn’t take too much wandering to get to the bottom of it all. I walked west on 39th street and as I came around the corner on Lexington Avenue, I could see what was causing all that noise. A huge plume of steam and mud was spewing out of a large crater in the middle of the street just two blocks up.
It was both an impressive and tragic scene. The plume of steam was shooting hundreds of feet in the air—at least as tall as the nearby Chrysler Building. There was another tall office building right in front of the crater that was almost completely obscured by the shooting steam. Bricks and other debris were strewn all across the street in the one block radius surrounding the crater . . . and there was a school bus right next to it. I still have yet to get an answer on how many people were in that bus, and what happened to them.
There was no sense of immediate danger, so I reached for my camera, thinking I might capture some great shots. Sadly, it’s batteries were drained. It was fine though, since everyone else on the street had a camera, and was snapping away. There was no shortage of documentation of the scene.
By this point, I’d gotten texts from several friends and family, who I had already tried to contact, explaining that the explosion was related to a steam pipe burst or a blown transformer. Whether a transformer was involved was uncertain to me, but with the sudden geyser that had sprung up in the middle of Lexington Avenue, there was no doubt that steam was involved.
A man walked by me on the street wearing a suit and soaked and covered in mud speckles. I was surprised by the consistency of the mud on him. It was as if he had walked through a thick muddy mist. It was like mud spackle, as opposed to clumps of mud. Soon, a few more muddy people came through, although they were not as bad. I started talking to one of them. He said he worked in the building right next to the crater. When the pipe burst, he and everyone else assumed it was a bomb or something. Fearing the building was about to collapse, they tried to get out as soon as they could. Their only route of escape took them right through the steam and the mud geyser.
I found myself standing next to the other guy who was caked in mud. A reporter from the Daily News approached him. He didn’t realize she was a reporter at first, and when he did, he became reluctant to share his story. When she asked for his address, he declined. From the bits of their conversation I was able to pick up, I gathered he was right next to the crater as the pipe burst. He said he didn’t see it, but heard it and felt it. He theorized immediately that it was not a bomb, because it sounded like pressure quickly built up below the road, and then slowly burst through to the surface (unlike a bomb, that would have instantly blown through).
I milled around a while longer, as the billowing geyser slowed into a trickle of steam, and then into nothing but a crater, puddle, and mess of debris. Plenty of people came by to gawk, like myself. The police got a little frustrated with the crowd getting in the way of emergency vehicles that were trying to get through. By this point, we had been pushed back to 38th street and Lexington, three blocks from the crater. Several news trucks and cameras had set up there. NBC 4 had a reporter at that intersection.
As I stood there taking in the scene, it became surreal and alarming in my mind, even if the incident itself no longer was. I walk through that intersection on days that I decide to walk across town to catch my bus to Jersey. I had planned to get out of the office in a timely manner today, but I thankfully got held up, and avoided the disaster. There were a few moments in the office, when we first heard the sirens, and the rumbling wasn’t going away that I was quite concerned about my safety. It’s moments like those that mortality really hits you.
I was also shocked that more people didn’t lose their lives. Thankfully, no gas or explosive materials were involved. Yet the scene looked really nasty.
NY Times Updates ¶ 10:35 PM 0 Comments
Shortly before 6pm, I was busy trying to wrap up my work for the day, when my co-worker, Lindsay, in the cube next to me said, “what’s that noise?” I hadn’t really noticed until she mentioned it, but there was an odd rumbling resonating through our building. It sounded like a mixture of thunder and a jet engine. What made it distinct, however, was there was no throbbing booms (like thunder) nor was there a traditional doppler affect noise (like there is with a moving jet plane). It was a steady consistent rumble.
The consistency of the noise eased my fears a little bit, since no bomb makes a prolonged noise like that. However, there was a lot of uneasiness, as others on my floor began to notice it too and also found it odd. I turned on the TV in a nearby office, and flipped through the local news. There were no breaking news reports from Midtown Manhattan, and a glance out the windows at the pedestrians below revealed nothing out of the ordinary.
Before sitting at my desk again and resuming work, I took a quick walk over to the opposite end of the office. The steady rumbling wasn’t going away, and I wandered around trying to find where it was coming from. Most everyone else on the floor had become aware of the noise. Suddenly, another co-worker frantically came down from the north west end of the office (the corner closest to Grand Central Station), saying, “there are people running on the street. They are running everywhere!”
It was right as he said this that I began hearing the sirens. Lots of sirens coming from every direction. I went back to the office where I had turned the TV on, and there was still no reporting on any situation in Midtown. We all found this insanely frustrating, because a fear for our lives was beginning to creep in, and we wanted information.
The conundrum that came over me had to do with what to do next. The rumbling, mixed with the sound of sirens, was becoming more ominous and threatening. Add in the fact that we had no idea what had happened and where it had happened, we all felt a little helpless. We weren’t sure if where we were in more danger, in the office, or on the street. The sight of people frantically running around below certainly didn’t make the decision any easier. But, I know we were all thinking of the collapse of the World Trade Center too, and instincts said “get out.”
Any concept of time was lost, but this whole thing couldn’t have gone on for more than ten minutes. Thankfully, a voice came on over the building loudspeaker, announcing that a steam explosion had occurred near the Chrysler building and that even though there was no immediate threat, we should evacuate the building. Within about ten minutes we had check all the offices and gotten everyone to head out. The elevators weren’t working, so we had to walk down the 17 flights.
We exited the building on 40th street between Third and Second Avenues. At the time, we had no idea that we were two blocks from the explosion. Everyone started walking East away from the amassing squad cars and fire trucks, but I had a FedEx package to drop of on Third Avenue. The authorities were not impeding my path to get there, so I proceeded in that direction. After leaving FedEx, I milled around a bit to observe the scene. At this point, no one had and idea what was going on. Some crowds were starting to gather, while other people were frantically trying to get out of there.
I tried calling my Mom in Wisconsin, who usually has the news on all day, but had a hard time getting through (not sure if there was too much cell phone traffic, or if some of the towers were out). Once I finally got through, I could barely hear her over the loud jet engine-like sound that was emanating from the Grand Central Station area. I shouted into my phone “Something happened near my office. It’s really loud and there are siren’s everywhere. I don’t know what’s going on!” I couldn’t hear exactly what she said in response, but she seemed remarkably calm, considering she was freaking out last fall when Cory Lidle crashed his plane into a building on the Upper East Side. I got the sense she was going to try to figure out what was happening.
I knew I should have tried to get out of there, but curiosity got the better of me, and I started wandering around trying to get a view of what was going on. It didn’t take too much wandering to get to the bottom of it all. I walked west on 39th street and as I came around the corner on Lexington Avenue, I could see what was causing all that noise. A huge plume of steam and mud was spewing out of a large crater in the middle of the street just two blocks up.
It was both an impressive and tragic scene. The plume of steam was shooting hundreds of feet in the air—at least as tall as the nearby Chrysler Building. There was another tall office building right in front of the crater that was almost completely obscured by the shooting steam. Bricks and other debris were strewn all across the street in the one block radius surrounding the crater . . . and there was a school bus right next to it. I still have yet to get an answer on how many people were in that bus, and what happened to them.
There was no sense of immediate danger, so I reached for my camera, thinking I might capture some great shots. Sadly, it’s batteries were drained. It was fine though, since everyone else on the street had a camera, and was snapping away. There was no shortage of documentation of the scene.
By this point, I’d gotten texts from several friends and family, who I had already tried to contact, explaining that the explosion was related to a steam pipe burst or a blown transformer. Whether a transformer was involved was uncertain to me, but with the sudden geyser that had sprung up in the middle of Lexington Avenue, there was no doubt that steam was involved.
A man walked by me on the street wearing a suit and soaked and covered in mud speckles. I was surprised by the consistency of the mud on him. It was as if he had walked through a thick muddy mist. It was like mud spackle, as opposed to clumps of mud. Soon, a few more muddy people came through, although they were not as bad. I started talking to one of them. He said he worked in the building right next to the crater. When the pipe burst, he and everyone else assumed it was a bomb or something. Fearing the building was about to collapse, they tried to get out as soon as they could. Their only route of escape took them right through the steam and the mud geyser.
I found myself standing next to the other guy who was caked in mud. A reporter from the Daily News approached him. He didn’t realize she was a reporter at first, and when he did, he became reluctant to share his story. When she asked for his address, he declined. From the bits of their conversation I was able to pick up, I gathered he was right next to the crater as the pipe burst. He said he didn’t see it, but heard it and felt it. He theorized immediately that it was not a bomb, because it sounded like pressure quickly built up below the road, and then slowly burst through to the surface (unlike a bomb, that would have instantly blown through).
I milled around a while longer, as the billowing geyser slowed into a trickle of steam, and then into nothing but a crater, puddle, and mess of debris. Plenty of people came by to gawk, like myself. The police got a little frustrated with the crowd getting in the way of emergency vehicles that were trying to get through. By this point, we had been pushed back to 38th street and Lexington, three blocks from the crater. Several news trucks and cameras had set up there. NBC 4 had a reporter at that intersection.
As I stood there taking in the scene, it became surreal and alarming in my mind, even if the incident itself no longer was. I walk through that intersection on days that I decide to walk across town to catch my bus to Jersey. I had planned to get out of the office in a timely manner today, but I thankfully got held up, and avoided the disaster. There were a few moments in the office, when we first heard the sirens, and the rumbling wasn’t going away that I was quite concerned about my safety. It’s moments like those that mortality really hits you.
I was also shocked that more people didn’t lose their lives. Thankfully, no gas or explosive materials were involved. Yet the scene looked really nasty.
NY Times Updates ¶ 10:35 PM 0 Comments
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Users Say: "I Want my Old Facebook Back"
Facebook could be getting a lesson in the ways of the social networking landscape it helped pioneer. The site launched a bunch of new features today which are not going over as well as its creative team likely anticipated.
An effort on petitiononline.com titled “Facebook.com Users Against the ‘News Feed’ and ‘Mini Feed’” had about 10,000 members at the time of this post. A group formed on the Facebook network Tuesday called “Students against Facebook News Feed” already boasts an incredible 95,000 members. Between 12:30 and 1:30 EST Wednesday morning, I watched membership to the group grow by 4,000 members. So, what’s the big deal?
The site introduced a new “News Feed” feature, which displays all of the most recent updates and actions of every friend a user has listed. If friend Jim sent a message to Jill today, the Feed says so. If Becky joined a new group, you can see that. If Jenna posts something on her ex-boyfriend’s profile, that little tidbit will show up on her current boyfriend’s News Feed.
It is such scenarios that have the community up in arms. One of the attractions of the Facebook has been its sense of anonymity. The new features seem to have eroded that.
It is apparent that Facebook members possess deep feelings of ownership over the networking site. One banner read “We want our old Facebook back now!” Unlike traditional social services like phones and email, in which people will simply walk away when they are not satisfied, Facebook users are showing a desire to stand up and fight. It is democracy in action on the one medium that is the most democratic of all, the Internet.
Facebook is part of the vast, new, and ever-changing expanse of social networking websites, in which the rules are being written everyday. The question here is, in its attempt to be innovative, did Facebook go too far?
In an ironic twist, the new features are actually fueling the resistance effort. Messages, notes, groups, and blogs expressing anger at the changes popped up all over the News Feed. Speaking on the growth of a group called “the New Facebook Sucks”, one user said, “At least this group will grow faster, ‘cause the whole world is going to see that I joined it.”
The site does permit users to remove specific notes about themselves that appear on the Feed, but only by removing them from your own profile after the fact.
Facebook and its creative team have yet to offer any response. When they do, they will have to assess how many users could walk away if the changes last much longer.
A sampling of comments from Facebook.com
Ravin Henry (UNI) wrote
at 10:30pm
Well, do we need to see everything and everywhere a person's been...I guess it's good if you want to see if you're man/woman is cheating...but, damn this is too much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Patty Burke (Lindenwood) wrote
at 10:04pm
Does anyone else feel like this has turned into "BIG BROTHER"?
Tim Braun (S. Central College) wrote
at 8:44pm
Why are you people so apaled by this? It only tells people how much of a psycho stalker/facebook whore you actually are. If you are embarassed that people can see who you talk to, or what you do on the site maybe you shouldnt do it in the first place huh? There are too many people on this site caught up in their lives on facebook because they do not have enough friends(I mean real friends, not people you added so you have more friends to seem cool and jazz up your pathetic online life) to actually enjoy a real conversation to get to know someone, not stalking them.
I dunno just my 2 cents.
P. S. all of you go out and meet just one new person in real life today and become actual friends with them.
Brandon Murphy (Minnesota) wrote
at 8:10pm
facebook? more like see-which-of-your-friends-is-the-biggest-stalkerbook
Jane B. (NW Missouri) wrote
at 7:08pm
The format sucks; it sounds more like a gossip column than a place to meet and stay connected with friends.
Caitlin Anderson (UNL) wrote
at 6:52pm
So if everyone just stopped using facebook, do you think they'd change it back?
AJ Baumann (UNL) wrote
at 4:06pm
Yup, Blake it says right here on my news feed that you took a shit 2 hours 57 mins ago.
I will say that some of these things are good but not all. That is for sure. I like knowing what going on...but not every post someone is making. I mean wow! Part of the fun was stumbling apon posts as you looked at friends profiles. Now you log on and are told every thing that happened since you logged on before the class you just got out of. Which as we have witnessed due to the new facebook (news/mini feeds) is a lot to catch up on from the 50 mins you just spent in class. Who knew so much happened on facebook in 50 mins, well we knew it, but now we have to admit that that much happens in 50 mins and who wants to do that?
any takers?
Lauren Taylor (UNL) wrote
at 2:23pm
This isn't just an invasion of privacy- people could be HURT by this.
'Oh, look at her, she does stuff on facebook one an hour, every hour. She's not cool.'
I've already heard that TWICE on campus. What'll be next, a template to log other addictions, like smoking or sex? It's just too intimate.
AJ Baumann (UNL) wrote
at 1:31pm
Everyone today is the day we lost our ways of sneaking around on facebook. Due to this new "feeding" thing, one must go back and cover their tracks so people dont know everything that they have been up to. If one were going to leave a fun little note for a friend to find on thier wall the next time they logged in to surpirse them...but now every one else knows its there unless you delete the mini feed. Where's the fun in that I ask. Invite everyone you know to join this group. Let it be know we do not care for this "feed"
elyse dankoski (UChicago) at 9:36pm
IS NOTHING SACRED???? i considered deleting my account, but then how would i post here to bitch about facebook??? i couldn't, could i? and bitching is more fun than abstaining.
Cam C (UCSD) wrote
at 7:09pm
They should have an option to where we can limit what we want shown. Why are THEY choosing what "facebook activity or movement I want show." Wouldn't it be smarter for the user to choose??? It's amazing how poor web design can really make you want to delete your facebook acount.
Katherine Lan (UConn) wrote
at 6:00pm
I wouldn't mind if they did this as like... a joke for a day... like haha, look what we can do... but to actually have it around all the time as the new facebook? I don't like it... it's too creepy...
¶ 12:25 AM 1 Comments
An effort on petitiononline.com titled “Facebook.com Users Against the ‘News Feed’ and ‘Mini Feed’” had about 10,000 members at the time of this post. A group formed on the Facebook network Tuesday called “Students against Facebook News Feed” already boasts an incredible 95,000 members. Between 12:30 and 1:30 EST Wednesday morning, I watched membership to the group grow by 4,000 members. So, what’s the big deal?
The site introduced a new “News Feed” feature, which displays all of the most recent updates and actions of every friend a user has listed. If friend Jim sent a message to Jill today, the Feed says so. If Becky joined a new group, you can see that. If Jenna posts something on her ex-boyfriend’s profile, that little tidbit will show up on her current boyfriend’s News Feed.
It is such scenarios that have the community up in arms. One of the attractions of the Facebook has been its sense of anonymity. The new features seem to have eroded that.
It is apparent that Facebook members possess deep feelings of ownership over the networking site. One banner read “We want our old Facebook back now!” Unlike traditional social services like phones and email, in which people will simply walk away when they are not satisfied, Facebook users are showing a desire to stand up and fight. It is democracy in action on the one medium that is the most democratic of all, the Internet.
Facebook is part of the vast, new, and ever-changing expanse of social networking websites, in which the rules are being written everyday. The question here is, in its attempt to be innovative, did Facebook go too far?
In an ironic twist, the new features are actually fueling the resistance effort. Messages, notes, groups, and blogs expressing anger at the changes popped up all over the News Feed. Speaking on the growth of a group called “the New Facebook Sucks”, one user said, “At least this group will grow faster, ‘cause the whole world is going to see that I joined it.”
The site does permit users to remove specific notes about themselves that appear on the Feed, but only by removing them from your own profile after the fact.
Facebook and its creative team have yet to offer any response. When they do, they will have to assess how many users could walk away if the changes last much longer.
A sampling of comments from Facebook.com
Ravin Henry (UNI) wrote
at 10:30pm
Well, do we need to see everything and everywhere a person's been...I guess it's good if you want to see if you're man/woman is cheating...but, damn this is too much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Patty Burke (Lindenwood) wrote
at 10:04pm
Does anyone else feel like this has turned into "BIG BROTHER"?
Tim Braun (S. Central College) wrote
at 8:44pm
Why are you people so apaled by this? It only tells people how much of a psycho stalker/facebook whore you actually are. If you are embarassed that people can see who you talk to, or what you do on the site maybe you shouldnt do it in the first place huh? There are too many people on this site caught up in their lives on facebook because they do not have enough friends(I mean real friends, not people you added so you have more friends to seem cool and jazz up your pathetic online life) to actually enjoy a real conversation to get to know someone, not stalking them.
I dunno just my 2 cents.
P. S. all of you go out and meet just one new person in real life today and become actual friends with them.
Brandon Murphy (Minnesota) wrote
at 8:10pm
facebook? more like see-which-of-your-friends-is-the-biggest-stalkerbook
Jane B. (NW Missouri) wrote
at 7:08pm
The format sucks; it sounds more like a gossip column than a place to meet and stay connected with friends.
Caitlin Anderson (UNL) wrote
at 6:52pm
So if everyone just stopped using facebook, do you think they'd change it back?
AJ Baumann (UNL) wrote
at 4:06pm
Yup, Blake it says right here on my news feed that you took a shit 2 hours 57 mins ago.
I will say that some of these things are good but not all. That is for sure. I like knowing what going on...but not every post someone is making. I mean wow! Part of the fun was stumbling apon posts as you looked at friends profiles. Now you log on and are told every thing that happened since you logged on before the class you just got out of. Which as we have witnessed due to the new facebook (news/mini feeds) is a lot to catch up on from the 50 mins you just spent in class. Who knew so much happened on facebook in 50 mins, well we knew it, but now we have to admit that that much happens in 50 mins and who wants to do that?
any takers?
Lauren Taylor (UNL) wrote
at 2:23pm
This isn't just an invasion of privacy- people could be HURT by this.
'Oh, look at her, she does stuff on facebook one an hour, every hour. She's not cool.'
I've already heard that TWICE on campus. What'll be next, a template to log other addictions, like smoking or sex? It's just too intimate.
AJ Baumann (UNL) wrote
at 1:31pm
Everyone today is the day we lost our ways of sneaking around on facebook. Due to this new "feeding" thing, one must go back and cover their tracks so people dont know everything that they have been up to. If one were going to leave a fun little note for a friend to find on thier wall the next time they logged in to surpirse them...but now every one else knows its there unless you delete the mini feed. Where's the fun in that I ask. Invite everyone you know to join this group. Let it be know we do not care for this "feed"
elyse dankoski (UChicago) at 9:36pm
IS NOTHING SACRED???? i considered deleting my account, but then how would i post here to bitch about facebook??? i couldn't, could i? and bitching is more fun than abstaining.
Cam C (UCSD) wrote
at 7:09pm
They should have an option to where we can limit what we want shown. Why are THEY choosing what "facebook activity or movement I want show." Wouldn't it be smarter for the user to choose??? It's amazing how poor web design can really make you want to delete your facebook acount.
Katherine Lan (UConn) wrote
at 6:00pm
I wouldn't mind if they did this as like... a joke for a day... like haha, look what we can do... but to actually have it around all the time as the new facebook? I don't like it... it's too creepy...
¶ 12:25 AM 1 Comments
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Proud to be an American, Proud to Watch Countdown, Ashamed of My President
Tonight, Keith Olbermann delivered a stirring, inspiring, and patriotic rebuttal to Donald Rumsfeld's speech to the American Legion yesterday. With delivery and conviction reminiscent of the man he also happened to pay homage to, Edward R. Murrow, Olbermann articulated what a majority of Americans are now beginning to understand; that our government long ago decided its most powerful political weapon was the fear of its own people.
Before he even mentioned Murrow, I already felt as if I was watching a reincarnation of the man. All that was missing was the dramatic streams of wispy cigarette smoke balancing out the shot. How fitting it was then that with Murrow's same theatric posture, Olbermann turned to camera two and shared Murrow's words from a March 9th, 1954 See it Now broadcast:
I'll let Olbermann's (and Murrow's) words speak for themselves, and in the meantime hope that enough people in this country get the message before they go to the polls on November 6th. That election is, as it should, becoming less about Democrat versus Republican, and more about freedom versus tyranny. It is however, not taking that turn the way the President and his party intended. Rather, it is this administration, with its fear-mongering and ridicule of any and all dissent, that acts with the very same fascist intentions it, ironically, blames on our "enemies".
MSNBC: Olbermann's Soliloquy
Blog: Time to Support Keith
YouTube: Olbermann on the pattern of "Terror Threats"
YouTube: David Strathairn's impersonation of Murrow reminds us of the dangers of stomping out dissent
¶ 10:02 PM 0 Comments
Before he even mentioned Murrow, I already felt as if I was watching a reincarnation of the man. All that was missing was the dramatic streams of wispy cigarette smoke balancing out the shot. How fitting it was then that with Murrow's same theatric posture, Olbermann turned to camera two and shared Murrow's words from a March 9th, 1954 See it Now broadcast:
We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof, and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men, not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate, and to defend causes that were for the moment unpopular.
I'll let Olbermann's (and Murrow's) words speak for themselves, and in the meantime hope that enough people in this country get the message before they go to the polls on November 6th. That election is, as it should, becoming less about Democrat versus Republican, and more about freedom versus tyranny. It is however, not taking that turn the way the President and his party intended. Rather, it is this administration, with its fear-mongering and ridicule of any and all dissent, that acts with the very same fascist intentions it, ironically, blames on our "enemies".
MSNBC: Olbermann's Soliloquy
Blog: Time to Support Keith
YouTube: Olbermann on the pattern of "Terror Threats"
YouTube: David Strathairn's impersonation of Murrow reminds us of the dangers of stomping out dissent
¶ 10:02 PM 0 Comments
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Yes, people actually said these things
If you’re like me, you’ve probably found yourself saying something in public that you regret or having risqué conversations in incredibly inappropriate places. Just imagine what the passers by must have thought about it . . .
“I know you have eating problems.” Overweight guy on cell phone in front of Macy’s.
“I’ve thought about working for an escort service.” Young woman to friends on the street in Hoboken. She was not very cute.
“I love the bronzer. It brings out that nice orangey color.” Obviously fake tanned young woman to her friends on the PATH train. As fake as her skin color was, she had a very real, very incredible body.
I will be sure to add more bizarre overheard comments as they happen. Post your own below.
¶ 10:00 PM 0 Comments
“I know you have eating problems.” Overweight guy on cell phone in front of Macy’s.
“I’ve thought about working for an escort service.” Young woman to friends on the street in Hoboken. She was not very cute.
“I love the bronzer. It brings out that nice orangey color.” Obviously fake tanned young woman to her friends on the PATH train. As fake as her skin color was, she had a very real, very incredible body.
I will be sure to add more bizarre overheard comments as they happen. Post your own below.
¶ 10:00 PM 0 Comments
Sunday, February 12, 2006
A wise man once said . . .
A wise man once said the following things . . . and that wise man was me:
People need to chill the fuck out. Especially politicians.
When ever I see those Girls Gone Wild commercials, I can't help but wish Spring Break was actually like that. Then again, I wish anything was actually like that.
When I think of John Williams, there's no doubt I think of "whiskey-toned gruffness" . . . because you know he's so chummy with that Jack Daniels guy.
¶ 4:28 AM 0 Comments
People need to chill the fuck out. Especially politicians.
When ever I see those Girls Gone Wild commercials, I can't help but wish Spring Break was actually like that. Then again, I wish anything was actually like that.
When I think of John Williams, there's no doubt I think of "whiskey-toned gruffness" . . . because you know he's so chummy with that Jack Daniels guy.
¶ 4:28 AM 0 Comments
If only I could have left Keanu out of it
Began Writing:
Sunday, February 12, 2006
12:36 AM
So, when am I going to be able to plug my computer into my head?
I’m serious. I want simple brain-to-computer communication YESTERDAY.
The “old school” brain-to-fingers-to-keys/mouse-to-cursor-to-hard-drive method just isn’t cutting it anymore. That got outdated sometime between when video killed the radio star and the death of the original Napster.
I feel like this is the perfect topic for my first blog entry. Some may consider this query a joke, and in truth, it is partially intended as one. But, in another truth, I really want to know how research has progressed in this field. How close are we to eliminating the keyboard and mouse and implementing an interface just south of telekinesis?
Is this really that much to ask? We’ve got notepad sized electronics that hold 100 times more music than a jukebox ever could, handhelds that can browse the web from anywhere wirelessly (yes, that’s right, we’re fucking WIRELESS!), and phones and cameras that have the features of a 1960s James Bond toy.
Of course, when you look at what makes any of these devices more or less attractive, it always comes down to the interface. The fact that Apple was able to condense the navigation for its iPod to four buttons and a scroll wheel is arguably the predominant key to its success. Most other devices are bogged down by, among other things, the inefficiency of the interface. No one really likes entering text into their Blackberry through that tiny little keypad, but there is no other option.
The cure to this ailment is Johnny Mnemonic. Surprising how retro the 1995 Keanu Reeves character seems already, but as far as I’ve heard (why doesn’t CNN report on this?), that dream interface isn’t much closer to being realized that it was when the film debuted. The ultimate connection between man and machine isn’t getting much press (so who knows if it’s getting any research).
Certain parts of the Mnemonic computer were sensational for a sci-fi film (which, you should gather, is the worst form of sensationalism, since that is pretty much what sci-fi films do), but the core components of the concept are pretty slick. A plug, comparable in size to the one for your headphones, is implanted behind your ear. Through this plug, a computer is wired directly into your central nervous system, enabling you to give said computer direct commands just by thinking the command in your head. Its like The Matrix (more Keanu, I’m sensing a theme) without the big scary probe going into your brain and making you do that weird eyes-in-the back-of-your-head-while-you-swallow-your-own-tounge thing.
In truth, the Mnemonic interface was not quite that seamless (I took some liberties and connected some dots). Mnemonic only uses his behind the ear jack to load data into his head. He uses a separate combination of the Nintendo Power Glove and Virtual Reality glasses to communicate with his computer. So actually, the Matrix model is much more along the lines of what I’m getting at.
Nonetheless, when the idea was first conceived in the 1984 book Neuromancer (which inspired Mnemonic), it was probably hard for many to grasp the idea of a computer directly linked into the brain. Today, I can guess I’m not the only one hoping and wishing and praying it was already here.
Imagine the possibilities. When you arrive at work, you sit down and you reach for the fiber optic wire coming out of the back of your computer. After slipping it in behind your ear, you instantly begin dictating a memo to your bosses about how the new brain to computer interface has greatly increased your efficiency at work. Of course, you don’t actually say anything; as you THINK the words, they start rolling out across the screen in front of you. When you go to meet a friend for lunch and can’t find the restaurant, you decide to call your friend and get directions. You go to reach for your cell phone, only to realize that it’s already dialing the number, because you left your brain plugged into the phone when you left the office. That’s telekinesis Kyle! (a Tenacious D quote for those who, for their own misfortune, don’t know the reference) Where can I sign up?
And thus, I come back to how this topic makes perfect sense for my first blog entry. As you will notice in the time stamps, writing this took considerably more time than I would have desired. I, in fact, basically wrote most of this entry in my head about five hours ago while I was at a Starbucks in the West Village. But, of course, putting the whole thing down on the keyboard took about ten times as long. And then you add in my walk to the train, my ride on the train, my walk through our lovely blizzard to my apartment, the obligatory welcome-home-conversation with my roommate, all before I can sit down and actually get access to the keyboard.
None of this is good for a guy like me, who has little patience and little focus. The mere fact that I finished this entry is a small miracle in itself, considering what I had to go through to do so. For these reasons, I see the Mnemonic computer as the solution to all the problems in my life.
Mnemonic was predicting wide-spread direct brain-to-computer communication by 2021. One would guess the necessary technology would have become available five years prior at the minimum. For my sake, I hope we are way ahead of the curve.
¶ 2:30 AM 0 Comments
Sunday, February 12, 2006
12:36 AM
So, when am I going to be able to plug my computer into my head?
I’m serious. I want simple brain-to-computer communication YESTERDAY.
The “old school” brain-to-fingers-to-keys/mouse-to-cursor-to-hard-drive method just isn’t cutting it anymore. That got outdated sometime between when video killed the radio star and the death of the original Napster.
I feel like this is the perfect topic for my first blog entry. Some may consider this query a joke, and in truth, it is partially intended as one. But, in another truth, I really want to know how research has progressed in this field. How close are we to eliminating the keyboard and mouse and implementing an interface just south of telekinesis?
Is this really that much to ask? We’ve got notepad sized electronics that hold 100 times more music than a jukebox ever could, handhelds that can browse the web from anywhere wirelessly (yes, that’s right, we’re fucking WIRELESS!), and phones and cameras that have the features of a 1960s James Bond toy.
Of course, when you look at what makes any of these devices more or less attractive, it always comes down to the interface. The fact that Apple was able to condense the navigation for its iPod to four buttons and a scroll wheel is arguably the predominant key to its success. Most other devices are bogged down by, among other things, the inefficiency of the interface. No one really likes entering text into their Blackberry through that tiny little keypad, but there is no other option.
The cure to this ailment is Johnny Mnemonic. Surprising how retro the 1995 Keanu Reeves character seems already, but as far as I’ve heard (why doesn’t CNN report on this?), that dream interface isn’t much closer to being realized that it was when the film debuted. The ultimate connection between man and machine isn’t getting much press (so who knows if it’s getting any research).
Certain parts of the Mnemonic computer were sensational for a sci-fi film (which, you should gather, is the worst form of sensationalism, since that is pretty much what sci-fi films do), but the core components of the concept are pretty slick. A plug, comparable in size to the one for your headphones, is implanted behind your ear. Through this plug, a computer is wired directly into your central nervous system, enabling you to give said computer direct commands just by thinking the command in your head. Its like The Matrix (more Keanu, I’m sensing a theme) without the big scary probe going into your brain and making you do that weird eyes-in-the back-of-your-head-while-you-swallow-your-own-tounge thing.
In truth, the Mnemonic interface was not quite that seamless (I took some liberties and connected some dots). Mnemonic only uses his behind the ear jack to load data into his head. He uses a separate combination of the Nintendo Power Glove and Virtual Reality glasses to communicate with his computer. So actually, the Matrix model is much more along the lines of what I’m getting at.
Nonetheless, when the idea was first conceived in the 1984 book Neuromancer (which inspired Mnemonic), it was probably hard for many to grasp the idea of a computer directly linked into the brain. Today, I can guess I’m not the only one hoping and wishing and praying it was already here.
Imagine the possibilities. When you arrive at work, you sit down and you reach for the fiber optic wire coming out of the back of your computer. After slipping it in behind your ear, you instantly begin dictating a memo to your bosses about how the new brain to computer interface has greatly increased your efficiency at work. Of course, you don’t actually say anything; as you THINK the words, they start rolling out across the screen in front of you. When you go to meet a friend for lunch and can’t find the restaurant, you decide to call your friend and get directions. You go to reach for your cell phone, only to realize that it’s already dialing the number, because you left your brain plugged into the phone when you left the office. That’s telekinesis Kyle! (a Tenacious D quote for those who, for their own misfortune, don’t know the reference) Where can I sign up?
And thus, I come back to how this topic makes perfect sense for my first blog entry. As you will notice in the time stamps, writing this took considerably more time than I would have desired. I, in fact, basically wrote most of this entry in my head about five hours ago while I was at a Starbucks in the West Village. But, of course, putting the whole thing down on the keyboard took about ten times as long. And then you add in my walk to the train, my ride on the train, my walk through our lovely blizzard to my apartment, the obligatory welcome-home-conversation with my roommate, all before I can sit down and actually get access to the keyboard.
None of this is good for a guy like me, who has little patience and little focus. The mere fact that I finished this entry is a small miracle in itself, considering what I had to go through to do so. For these reasons, I see the Mnemonic computer as the solution to all the problems in my life.
Mnemonic was predicting wide-spread direct brain-to-computer communication by 2021. One would guess the necessary technology would have become available five years prior at the minimum. For my sake, I hope we are way ahead of the curve.
¶ 2:30 AM 0 Comments
