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Stuff + nonsense. Updated daily. So far. Pretty much. Overwrought by Scott Knaster.
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Friday, September 12, 2003
It's hot
How hot is it? According to KFOG radio, it's so hot, the Goths on Haight Street are spontaneously combusting. More "it's so hot" jokes here. These are supposed to be about Arizona. They know from heat.
Thursday, September 11, 2003
What I remember
The first news I heard was after the first crash but before the second one. I was mad at the radio news guy for sensationalizing when he speculated that it was probably a terrorist attack. The first reports I heard said a small plane had crashed into the tower. Of course, it was a jumbo jet. I wonder if this mistake was because the towers were so large that they made a big plane look small, or that people couldn't comprehend what had actually happened. When I saw the towers burning on TV, I thought "man, it's going to be a lot of work to fix those." I never imagined they would fall. Who did? I watched the first tower fall on TV and heard a reporter describe it, but it didn't penetrate into my brain until several minutes later. In the days following, I expected everybody to be more open and friendly, like they were after the big earthquake in 1989. But I was disappointed when most people I saw in public avoided making eye contact. An all-sports radio station ran talk shows 24/7 for several days, and the hosts were remarkably intelligent and comforting. I imagined a scenario in which, if another big attack took place within a few days, when we were still raw, public order in our country would collapse. There was a big benefit concert that was on every channel a few days later -- even many cable channels, like HBO. The atmosphere was eerie, with no audience, no narration, no subtitled credits. The concert was at a secret location. I wondered if everything was going to be like that from then on. There were no commercials on radio or TV for many days. It was very exciting when, a couple of days later, planes returned to the skies.
9/10/01
Today I'm remembering 9/10/01, a great day. I was visiting my mother on the eve of her knee replacement surgery. We had a wonderful time driving all over town, joyriding and visiting old haunts, having a couple of good meals. We finished the day by watching the first Monday night football game of the season and going to sleep early so I could get her to the hospital for her surgery the next morning. Her doctors had tremendous powers of concentration, and the surgery was a success.
Wednesday, September 10, 2003
Elite Computers -- mystery solved
Courtesy of Wolf, here.
Tuesday, September 09, 2003
3733t?
What's up with Elite Computers in Cupertino, across the street from Apple? The store was closed, then reopened as a Computerware or something, then closed again. Now the OPEN sign is on again and the sign says "G5 in stock". Is it back? Is it a joke?
Monday, September 08, 2003
Call me the curse (baseball)
The family and I went to the Giants-Diamondbacks game yesterday, courtesy of CJ. An ugly bullpen performance led to a 9-6 Giants defeat. In a year in which the Giants have the best home record in baseball, I have seen 3 grotesque losses at Pacific Bell Park. I am probably not allowed to attend any more games.
His ride's here
Warren Zevon is dead. He was a fabulous songwriter, and he handled his illness and death with grace.
Sunday, September 07, 2003
Movie night
I watched two pretty good movies last night: The Time Machine and Panic Room. I was skeptical about The Time Machine, especially because I really like the classic George Pal version, but I was pleasantly surprised. I like Guy Pearce, and the lightweight love story was sweet. The Machine itself is wonderfully to look at. The scenery, set in various times over a span of 800,000 years, is nifty. The special effects were very cool -- I replayed the first extended time travel scene for my son and then for my wife, and I enjoyed it all three times. The movie bogged down during the opening, in the library in 2030, and during the uber-Morlock exposition-plus-fight scene near the end. But overall, it was a fun 103 minutes of my life. Panic Room was good suspense and lots of neat camera effects. I don't think I've ever been disappointed by a Jodi Foster movie.
