Adventures in My Mind
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Feb 27, 2003
Fred McFeely Rogers
(1928 - 2003)
Thanks, Fred.
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 2:34 PM
Feb 26, 2003
As if being canned isn't bad enough, I've been clobbered by stomach flu! For two days, I've been in and out of the bathroom at hourly intervals. I spent the majority of the day yesterday under a heap of blankets, shivering my arse off with a raging fever. Ugh! I've hardly eaten anything since Sunday and I'm as weak as a newborn baby. I'm felling better now, but probably won't be back to normal until Thursday or Friday.
With all this time on my hands, you'd think that I could come up with somethin interesting to write about, but ... no. I've got writer's block as bad as I've ever had it. Even W's sabre rattling, deathtrap nightclubs, and missing wives can't fire any creative sparks. The only reason I have this much to say is because I'm forcing myself to write something ... anything! Sitting and staring at the blank screen is not an acceptable alternative to filling it with little black lines and squiggles.
I think maybe I'm suffering from infromation overload. There's so much noise in the world these days it's hard to filter the noise from signal. It gets inside your head and bounces around like a pong ball on speed. Finding a clear idea among the ruckus is damned hard. Maybe I'm ADHD and all I need is good dose of Ritalin twice a day to kick out some of the fuzz. Better living through chemistry and all that.
It's late. I'm sick. I'm tired. And I'm sick and tired of rambling like this. Goodnight.
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 12:47 AM
Feb 24, 2003
Okay, just in case any of you were wondering, getting fired sucks! It sucks so hard that it hurts. You know, kicked in the balls kind of hurt. And I should know; I was fired on Friday for the second time in two years.
That makes the 4th job I've lost in my 7 years in the Internet industry. A reasonable man would look for another industry. A reasonable man wouldn't set himself up for such abuse. A resonable man would tell the Internet industry to kiss his overbroad ass, expanded after too many years of sitting in front of a computer monitor all day!
Anyway, I'm on the street again and looking for employment. If any of you dear readers know of an opportunity for me, please pass it on.
Off to the want ads.
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 11:33 AM
Feb 19, 2003
From The Onion:
"Chinese man still writing 'horse' on checks."
I can't quite explain it--at least in 1,000 words or less--but that is damn funny. It's amazing how little, funny things like that can totally change a foul mood or a sour disposition.
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 1:28 PM
Feb 2, 2003
Much has been said about the loss of Columbia, STS-107. Most of it very respectfully, both to the 7 who were lost and their families, and to the heartbroken people of NASA who are now tasked with finding out what went wrong. Surely many of them feel that if they had done their jobs just a little better that this tragedy would not have happened. Of course, they are wrong. No matter how dilligently or thoughtfully they perform their jobs, this type of thing simply comes with the territory.
We've developed a rather blase attitude toward space flight in this country. And it's understandable; we're good at it! Admittedly, we've probably not progressed as far as we should have in the 34 years since Apollo 11 landed on the moon, but we've still accomplished a great deal. The International Space Station being the current crowning glory. Upon a time, Americans would be glued to their TVs watching a rocket take off from Cape Canaveral. Today, however, most of us rarely know when a Space Shuttle is cruising 200 miles above our heads. The extraordinary efforts of the thousands of men and women involved in the U.S. space program have made the incredible commonplace.
Yesterday, however, we were tragically reminded of just how uncommon space flight really is.
As a high school junior in 1986, I watched Challenger explode on live TV. I and the rest of my history class were watching because Christie McAuliffe was about to become the first civilian in space, an historic occaision to be sure. Suddenly there was a large explosion and the two booster rockets streaked into opposite directions, while debris began to rain down from the sky. "Oh, no," said one of the teachers gathered around the televsion. We all stared at the image unable to grasp the event we had just witnessed. Not much else was said as we were escorted back to our desks. Seven lives lost and millions of hearts broken.
Yesterday, Sami, the kids and I were on our way to our monthly run to Sam's Club. I tuned into NPR as we pulled out of the drive. Immediately we had heard that NASA had lost contact with the shuttle and it was now 5 minutes past the scheduled landing time at Kennedy Space Center. Suddenly, it was 17 years ago all over again. An emptiness formed in my stomach. The same one felt everytime you are witness to terrible events. Obviously a loss of contact for nearly 20 minutes could mean only that the shuttle and its crew were lost. "Oh, no," said Sami. We said very little else until we reached our destination.
The loss of Columbia and her crew marks the third major disaster for the U.S. space program. From the first tragedy of Apollo I to Challenger, there was always another crew ready to fill the shoes of those lost before them. This will be no different. Another brave group of adventurers and scientists are already in line to push the boundaries of our understanding of life in space. These incredible people are truly modern day heroes.
The Columbia crew was lost on a routine mission, but yesterday's events show that their jobs were anything but routine. I wish them safely home on the rest of their journey, wherever that may lead.
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 10:38 PM
