Entries this day: Brain_switch Meetings my_moms_article smarterchild work

Brain switch

5:46am Tuesday 9 October 2001

I've been listening moreso to the news, and I find myself less angry at the US for attacking Afghanistan. When it happened a few days ago I was sad and angry.

Now I'm not so mad; I feel almost prepared to go to war, although that's total BS because *I* am not going to war. *I* am not a ground troop.

I am extremely thankful for our ground troops to keep my ass safe here at home.

- - - -

This shift makes me wonder if I've been brainwashed by the news or what. Verry interesting.

I think it's the anthrax attacks in Florida that did it for me.

Meetings

1:27pm Tuesday 9 October 2001

Both phone conference calls were great today; minor changes were requested, and most of them were made immediately while we were still in conference. The client is quite pleased with the product and all kinds of good stuff.

Karla is even buying me lunch at JCI -- baked potato with crazy cheese. (not a backed potato)

Discovered one error during the testing. Actually two. One that is an actual bug, one that is a business rule not being fully defined. I'll fix the bug; and it should be easy enough to fix the other.

I'm feeling a ton better today than yesterday, though I'm a bit tired now that I've been at work for 8 hours already. But this system is going live tomorrow. I'll sleep tonight once it's done (and after Dude and I take more underwater pics for humanclock.com).

my moms article

October 2001

This is written by my mom.

In wake of tragedy, let response be wise

by KATHLEEN ELLIS

Columnist  

 

Tragedy has shocked us into an examination of the way this nation of peace and freedom does business in the world. Terrorism used to happen in distant places. Now, explosions of death and destruction have rocked us to the core.  

Grief mingles with fury. No country deserved such an act of terrorism. Where is God now? Where is Allah? Where is Yhwh? Why don’t they do something? 

A Sufi was praying when along came a cripple, a beggar and a victim of assault. And seeing them, he cried, “Great God, how is it that a loving creator can see such things and yet do nothing about them?” And God said, “I did do something. I made you.” 

OK, God, what are we to do now? Retaliate? Assassinate? Give up our freedom? We expect some combination of responses. These attacks demand increased vigilance as well as a strong show of force. I am appalled that misguided vigilantes have assaulted mosques, Muslims, and anyone who resembles them. Still, our trigger fingers are ready to fire even while the other hand guards the safety. We want to find some middle ground between “an eye for an eye” and “turn the other cheek.” We want the world safe again for our children. What can we do? 

We have already begun to take a hard look at ourselves. How is it that someone thought this was a good idea? People hijacked multiple planes and deliberately sacrificed themselves in exchange for maximum civilian casualties. Why is it that they hated us so much, or felt so unheard, or had so little to lose, that they were willing to take such desperate measures?  

We have been way “too busy” to pay much attention to the world’s people. Millions starve while we grab a bite to eat or dine in quiet elegance. Refugees flee to crowded camps while we crowd into concert halls and sports arenas. Cheap labor overseas keeps our prices down and dividends high. And we’re surprised that people hate us? 

Officially, we have isolated ourselves in dramatic ways — by walking out of the Middle East peace process, challenging the nuclear test ban, refusing to sign the Kyoto Accord, dropping out of the racism summit, withholding dues from the United Nations even though we expect its support. Perhaps we should not be so quick to walk away from international issues. Only when we stay in the struggle can we find win-win solutions to extremely complicated problems.  

We may even have to compromise. 

An image I try to keep in my mind is our beautiful planet Earth shown against the immensity of space. No divisions can be seen, no nations, no races, no wealth, no poverty. Last week the explosions must have been visible from space when citizens from many countries lost their lives. Now citizens from many countries must find a way to reach across our divisions until we root out the sources of terrorism. This is too small a world for indiscriminate hatred. We can no longer pretend this is someone else’s problem. 

I believe that God/Allah/ Yhwh calls us to the light of possible human cooperation and compassion. The rest of the world stands ready to help us determine a wise course of action as we seek a better world for all people. 

God awaits our decisions. 

• The Rev. Kathleen Ellis is a minister of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in College Station.

smarterchild

9 October 2001

       Name          Value  Change  Percent
:-) 30 Y TSY YLD NDX  53.68  +0.53   +1.00%

work

8pm Tuesday 9 October 2001

Lots of scary news going on. Even so I was somehow able to finish the changes for the survey which will go live in a few hours. What a wonderful compliment to hear people so impressed with the site on both phone calls today!!

Amazing that there are astronauts in space, we have satellites around mars, professional sports games, me all hoping the survey is flawless tomorrow, and a fucking war going on all at once.