the human experiment

This is a story regarding Halle Berry's close call with suicide. I have to admit, I read the article because I saw how hot she looked. But after reading it, I realized how we all go through hard times, even super hot stars like Halle. I thought of Anna Nicole Smith. I thought of the 'downside' of stardom. How we, as the public and society, essentially dehumanize these people to products. How they become idealized and how this affects them and their lives. We often look at one aspect of their lives and think of how great it must be. I for one, would never want such a life. Is is absurd how the public and people talk about the stars and their lives? Perhaps, it gives us all a chance to discuss 'the human experience' and gives us all a common denominator. We can all relate to these stars on one level or another. So in that sense, pop culture, ties us all together with a human link. Even if they are, to many of us, a product...

The following story is from here:

Halle Berry came close to committing suicide after the failure of her marriage to baseball star David Justice, but changed her mind at the last minute, fearing her death would leave her mother heartbroken.

The Oscar-winning actress was so depressed after the relationship collapsed in 1997, she started the process of poisoning herself with carbon monoxide in her car.

It took an image of her mother Judith finding her body to stop her.

Berry tells Parade magazine, "I was sitting in my car, and I knew the gas was coming, when I had an image of my mother finding me.

"She sacrificed so much for her children, and to end my life would be an incredibly selfish thing to do. It was all about a relationship. My sense of worth was so low. I had to reprogram myself to see the good in me. Because someone didn't love me didn't mean I was unlovable. I promised myself I would never be a coward again."]

intuitive clutter

I believe in 'vibes'. But how do you separate the genuine and real intuitive feeling from the other clutter that rattles around in your mind?

the [justin.tv] story goes on...and on....and on...

This sort of thing is becoming more and more and more common...totally links with 'the second life', 'my life bits', and all that stuff...it's interesting, but seems to be very 'ed tv' like...doesn't seem that original, but here you go...just one more dot in the pattern emerging. Blending 'reality' with 'what is reality?'

But I think a far more useful approach, would be professional series for career exploration. the "a day in the life of..." series. Where a doctor, firemen, clerk, accountant, legal professional, lumberjack...etc do this 'justin tv' thing and interested students or people wanting to explore a field can view...instead of just entertainment.

to be honest (and i'm rarely this blunt)...justin.tv just seems stupid...

--------------------------------

ON a different note; where do companies come up with these names? Microsoft has been really good at coming up with names that are cheezy but sound edgy...previous ones, such as 'zune', 'urge' (with mtv), and now 'deepfish'...

The departement of defense has a computer program to come up with names for operatons, such as desert storm, or desert shield, or but i bet microsoft just has a bunch of twenty-something nerds sitting around trying to come up with 'cool' names that just end up sounding...silly...

Microsoft did try the concept of naming something for what it was suppose to do. The 'play for sure' label. Only problem with that strategy is your screwed if it doesn't 'play for sure'.

I think it would be great if the military operation names actually described what was going on behind the scenes. For instance, when we invaded Iraq it would be:

Operation: Line Your Pockets

or

Operation: Big Dick Syndrome

or if we invade Iran it's really simple:

Operation: Oh Shit!

In the movie, 'enron: the smartest guys in the room', there are sound bits of the traders coming up with names for different trading strategies. Many were describing how the company was robbing, errr excuse me 'arbitraging' the state of california...good movie if you haven't seen it...

JFK

No matter how we got here, why we are here or where we are going... To me that is the ultimate puzzle. The ultimate 'riddle, wrapped up in a mystery, inside an enigma...'

(I always thought that phrase came from the movie JFK...great flick...)

Anyway, it's so great...the life...

A friend of mine started a blog...so great, about bike riding... I guess his blog reminds me its about finding something you love and doing it...

I love biking. I bike to work everyday. May be the best commute ever! I look forward to climbing onto the bike when i leave work. Whether it's raining or nice out. I love the SF weather...never know what to expect...I like the uncertainty...

But no matter what this life is about, our purpose in it, how much we have to work...finding joy in something is part of the mystery. And I think joy can be found by letting go and letting the 'currents of life guide you...'. Finding something that gives you 'the ride' you are looking for...

I still have a long ways to go before I am in shape enough to ride with my friends, but it's nice to know it's about the fun...it's nice to know, that maybe life is more of a 'joke, wrapped in a limerick, and served on a woody allen line...'

“

I contemplated suicide again - this time by inhaling next to an insurance salesman.

”

sdr

self destructive relationships have a definite place in human relations. the same factors at play in an individual, the accepting of the universal laws that want them to succumb to the forces of entropy and the energy concentrating forces of life, are at play. these two forces threaten to rattle most relationships to pieces. I think understanding the factors at play, put us in a slightly better positions of mastering them.

the nth life part n+1

So why create a 'simulation' of our world? Why bother? Why would a society create a simulated world such as ours?

I think it is inevitable that we will do this. That means, somebody else must have already done so, increasing the likelyhood that our entire universe is basically a 'simulation'. Which, in a funny way changes nothing while at the same time changes everything.

But why create it...To answer questions and to learn. Our universe was created to study how life evolves and how ideas evolve. We were created for the reason of creating ideas. That is the purpose of our society, accoring to 'the nth life' philosophy, is to think and generate ideas. To create.

Basically, any group or society that created our universe is basically God. But when asked why God would create our universe I never have or can come up with an answer that is logical and satisfies me. Why a somebody or group of somebodies (who would basically be God) would create our universe the answer is so simple and incredibly obvious. To learn. To study.

Doesn't that make sense? Or at least doesn't it make great science fiction? I really think this stuff would make a great story or screen play...kind of a bit of a twist on 'the matrix.'

Perhaps i'll start putting some ideas for a story up here...

the unbearable weightiness of ownership

Okay fine! I am going to evaluate going carless. Having a car-free that is a carefree existence. Here is one more option in my bag of tricks.

I mentioned it to my girlfriend and she said, "Sure. Plenty of europeans at work just share one car."

This is a kind of exciting adventure.

Who knew that getting my car towed would be a great experience and lesson. I am looking at it as I paid a 'consulting fee' and the consultant said, well you could save a bundle if you got the car out of your life. But instead of the consultant writing a report and tossing it onto the desk saying, "there you go...".

They went one step further and took my car! (you have to pay extra for that service you know...and not all 'lifestyle consultants' even do it...i got lucky...)

Some may say that such a positive view on subject matter is delusional. I would say, I just prefer to pull out of any situation what supports what I want to accomplish in this life.

So had a great impromptu night last night. Love the impromptu situations...perhaps the best ever...I think I would like to structure my life to maximize 'the impromptu'. How does one do that?

I spoke with one of my good buddies and had tentative plans, but we kind of left it that we would hook up the following week. But then I ended up throwing the frisbee around with our european roomate we have who is leaving to head back to europe soon. the frisbee was great...great cheap game! Even some cheap little kids joined in. one kid asked, "excuse me sir, can we play?" So we tossed him the frisbee...

Following frisbee it was off to a irish pub for two pints of guiness...(made by Diageo by the way, the world's leading producer of spirits and paying a nice 4% dividend) and an evening of good conversation and live band...can you say, "so great"?

oh, we did drive...but i think biking would have been much more fun...especially if we had a frisbee in tow...

going...going...gone?

So I recovered my car. You know...that thing with four wheels that I never use. That thing, that if it sits for more than 3 days is considered 'abandoned' and will be towed. You then have to leave work, go to the police station and get a 'release form' and then go to the tower and pay $145 for the tow, and $45 for each day it sits in the lot. Which could be quite a long time if you never use your car. Thankfully, mine just sat for a little over a day (thanks to my girlfriend asking, "hey, where did you car go?") But no prorating, you get slammed for the whole day, even if it just sat in the lot for an hour over the 24 hr period.

So this is a legitimized scam. You have to pay to get your own stuff back. Great deal!

I think I may put a sign on my car that says, "I will move my car for $10, call this number....". Otherwise it'll move every 2-3 days. I have to look up the law as to how far it has to move. A foot? 2 feet? There's probably some crazy formula that gets worked out...

"If it's an odd model year, then you dived the year by two...after adding three...and then multiply that by .84 and then call this number to find out the current conversion rates for that zip code to find out how far the car actually has to move."

so great...

Actually, it was an interesting experience. Kind of expensive...but interesting...

So I am going to evaluate going carless. I don't need my car for work. Once you are at that stage, getting 'rid of the ride' becomes really doable....

will keep you posted of my carless adventures...

missing something i never use

Okay, I want to continue on 'the nth life' but something just popped up that I have to write about. I, thankfully, never need to use my car. And it's a nice car...a 2001 civic. But since I can bike and use public transportation to get to work, I never need to drive. Which is a great thing! I hate driving on repetitive routes...like to work...

But I walked outside to check on it...

And it was gone!

So my first reaction was it was stolen.

But then i thought, people on the street must get tired of parking around this car that never moves so they called to have it towed. And it was. I am now on the phone with the police dispach to find out what the dealio is...

so funny, i wonder if it's worth keeping the car...

so great...

an nth life

I mentioned second life in previous blog. I have been experimenting with it. I have upgraded my RAM. I can now explore this world...

I didn't know what exactly it was about second life that so interested me. But I think I figured it out.

What if our world is an nth life of another society?

I know this might sound crazy. But just think about it for a second...

It was/is inevitable that we develop another world in cyberspace. It has happened. Now it is a matter of time before we continue to expand this world. What happens when we add 'artificial intelligence' type technology to these worlds. Would the characters in these worlds think they are real?

See where I am going with this?

We used to think that the known world was a small slice of globe. The rest of the world was flat. then we discovered...not true...

Then we thought we were the center of the solar system? Then we realized helio-centric model was right and so was the German-Pole Copernicus.

We then thought our solar system was the center of the universe...

Why do we now think we are the first to develop another 'world'. Isn't it more likely that we are one of these worlds. Just statisically I mean. To be first in anything you have to be...well...first...you are an outlier. Isn't it more likely you are just a data point in a stream of data points instead of the first...or the last...

spending money to have fun

In trying to save more money I am starting to analyze my spending patterns. Is spending money on just having fun worth it? Perhaps fun comes just in living life? In each moment. In experiencing things.

fed watch

I think the excesses, to use a little 'green speak'...the 'irrational exuberance' of this era, are going to erode little by little. The interesting situation with the sub-prime housing market, regarding which Greenspan is sounding the recession bell very loudly, is one of these 'eroding moments' when our, the american, standard of living will fall more in line with that of the rest of the world's. Once the dollar devalues, the cycle will be near a close. When i say, 'devalues', I do not mean an asian currency crisis of the 90's type situation. It will be a very orderly move towards the exits, with the dollar just going down in value much as an overpriced stock would or will. After all, the dollar and all currencies trade just like any commodity. Until the dollar is more reasonably priced, then expect more turbulence in the markets as this situation works itself out.

I am curious to see what the fed does with the housing situation. I can't remember a time that has been as interesting to watch the fed's moves as it is today. There is so much going on. So many balls in the air.

I personally believe that the fed will let the sub-prime market shake out happen without a bail out. The housing market must come down to fall more in line with other fundamentals. The fed realizes this, I believe. It can do so, while at the same time, protecting the dollar by increasing interest rates or, a more subtle approach by just leaving interest rates unchanged. I think the fed will inch up rates to test the housing waters. The latest inflationary data will be the justification by which they do so. This will also squeeze out some excesses in the stock market.

a new idea?

This blog is trying to find itself. What are the common themes I like to write about? What are the common threads that connect each post. I am not sure, but I am trying to find that out.

One thing the really interests me is ideas and their evolution. It just so happens I was reading the financial times and came across an article on the history of originality and the meaning of originality and innovativeness.

The author writes, "We still labour under a romantic (that is, Romantic) notion of what creativity and originality look like. We picture that lonely figure experiencing a eurka moment and, from nothing, creating something completely and utterly new."

He says, "innovation is a team game, and one in which everyone has much to learn (and copy) from what is going on in the outside world."

He talks about how google is critiqued for profiting off of the ideas of others. I think google exemplifies what defines innovation. Making connections between existing ideas.

Innovation, is not about coming up with something new. But a new view on what already is. A new connection. A connection can be original.

The idea that nothing is original is not very original. But what can be original and innovative is a new process. A new method. A new perspective.

These are great. A nice balance to those annoying 'motivator' posters you see in offices. Check them out at www.despair.com (no i'm not getting paid to say this...I would if i could...wouldn't that be cool...i only wish...can i say anthing more inbetween these parenthesis?)

here to see it...here to feel it...

"If there was a big bang in the universe and no one was there to hear it, would it make a sound?"

I was taking the train home from work (so great, no driving) and enjoying the sun setting and thinking,

"hmmmm, if humans weren't here....if life wasn't here...to experience this, would any of it happen or exist?"

Perhaps that's one reason humans exist, is to give testament that this world exists? don't know...but it's definitely one reason! Because if we didn't see it...who would?

formilab

This is a great site. John Walker was the original developer of Autodesk. He is an amazing genius that has 'checked out' of the system, lives in europe now after living in sausilito for a long time. He has developed a great system for losing weight. Check it out.

He has thrown out a bit of a gauntlet as well. If you want to contact him, he says "you will figure it out."or something like that... essentially the pieces to the puzzle can be found on his website....interesting...

Boby Dylan sings to people outside of the mainstream...people that are 'floating'...or perhaps just rolling like a stone.

lyrics to "Like a Rolling Stone"

Once upon a time you dressed so fine
You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?
People'd call, say, "Beware doll, you're bound to fall"
You thought they were all kiddin' you
You used to laugh about
Everybody that was hangin' out
Now you don't talk so loud
Now you don't seem so proud
About having to be scrounging for your next meal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

You've gone to the finest school all right, Miss Lonely
But you know you only used to get juiced in it
And nobody has ever taught you how to live on the street
And now you find out you're gonna have to get used to it
You said you'd never compromise
With the mystery tramp, but now you realize
He's not selling any alibis
As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes
And ask him do you want to make a deal?

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns
When they all come down and did tricks for you
You never understood that it ain't no good
You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you
You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat
Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat
Ain't it hard when you discover that
He really wasn't where it's at
After he took from you everything he could steal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people
They're drinkin', thinkin' that they got it made
Exchanging all kinds of precious gifts and things
But you'd better lift your diamond ring, you'd better pawn it babe
You used to be so amused
At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used
Go to him now, he calls you, you can't refuse
When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose
You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

pizza my heart

Going with the idle time theme. I was once again at the post office. I had some time to wait again. When i got to the counter to pick up a package the postman let me know,

"wait here, I will be right back..."

S0 I waited.

But my first thought was,

"oh, some idle time. let me grab my phone and text message my friend back..."

But then caught myself.

We, ourselves, are really good barometers for everyone else. Chances are. Your gut reaction or instinctual response as a result of cultural identity will be the same as 99% of the people in your culture. In our cases, western society. So If my initial thought was,

"oh, idle time. I must distract myself and/or be as efficient as possible"

Then, chances are 99% of the american public thinks the same thing.

but going with the thought in my last blog entry. I think we are robbing ourselves of those moments where the brain 'drifts'. And in those drifting moments, kind of like conscious sleep, the brain solves problems. When the brain stops thinking of a problem it has to solve, it often finds a solution...

I guess my point is, don't feel you always have to distract yourself. I'm trying to learn it's okay to let the brain just sit...and idle...

In this case, I just found a great NY pizza place in the south bay so I let my brain drift over the experience again...

I'm a retrenched New Yorker and always looker for a good pie. I finally found one that can compete with the east coast...it was pure chance that I found this place...I have to do a 'resample' to ensure their consistency is there. That's always a fear, find a great pie only to realize it was an outlier. A chance hit. A random shot in the dark that hit its mark...i have a good feeling about this place, however.

So when i go back next time. I hope there is a nice long line. So I can stand in line and wait...doing nothing but being idle....

in other words, "just don't do something, sit there..."

idle time

We often think that idle time is wasted time? Sometimes idle time is the most productive time.

If you are not at your desk, "working" then you are not working...is the common supposition. However, the mind works in mysterious ways. Problems are sometimes best solved when we stop thinking about them.

recession proofed

Greenspan speaketh againeth

I am going to diversify into Linden dollars currency markets...

the possibilities

I am really pondering the potentials of second life.

What if you could run through scenarios in your life and play them out in a "model you" scenario.
The technology is not there yet. But what if second life was a model of your life?

You could run through various situations and see how they play out. I have many questions regarding second life.

Is there a stock market? If so, can one get a seat on the exchange?

Can I mention my blog to people in half life. Get to know their characters and interact with them in 'this world'?

Is that in and of itself crazy? That I need to refer to this world as...well..."this world"?

So this is a whole new realm to explore.

and it makes sense that it would evolve when you think about it.

We discovered the 'new world'. That is north america....it was a whole world to explore and 'develop'. Now the 'new world' is old. Played out and used up and fully exploited...time for something new to evolve...

It makes sense that we would develop real estate, markets, and opportunities in a world that only exists in cyber space...i love it...

"is this really in our world?"

gimme a second

I am very intrigued by second life. I created a character. This world is the future. Whatever you feel about it. Whatever your thoughts. Second life is the future. To be honest, I cannot believe we are witnessing this event unfolding in front of us.

Remember how gradually the internet became a phenomena that became indispensable to your life? This is second life now.

I have big plans for my second life. Big plans. I have ideas with which I want to play with within the second life and I am very interested in the philosophy of second life in our first life.

I got a comment regarding second life as not being the first....second life type game. I am sure that is true, but I also feel this is big...and evolutionary

check it out...

PS Now I may have to upgrade the computer I just got...

amazing people

I really do enjoy talking with people. Getting to know people. Getting to expand my life experience through getting their perspectives. I think the more people the better. Everyone can give you their perspective on the world.

I think of the three blind men in the room with the elephant (get your minds out of the gutter).

Each one gets a different perspective on what an elephant looks like. One man says as he feels the tail, "Ahhh, it's like a snake..."

Another one touching the massive leg and says emphatically, "NO! This animal looks like a tree."

The last one says, "What are you guys blind! Oh...anyway, this animal is more like a spear!" As he feels the smoothness and pointedness of the tusk.

Life is like the elephant. Each of us the blind men. By getting to talk to each blind man, we get a better picture of the whole picture.

My girlfriend and I had our friends over last night. I got reacquainted with their perspective. It's a great perspective! I am really lucky to have friends that I aspire to learn from. I am lucky to have friends that I want to be more alike.

I have really cool friends!

I think we have forgotten, as Americans, that conversation is a source of entertainment. Of bonding with great people and just talking is a wonderful experience. It has been a source of entertainment that has kept us busy for ages. Before TV. Before movies. Before books even.

We had conversation. We had each other....

getting comfortable

We went to an used REI gear sale yesterday. And saw nothing of worth, so I bought nothing. Good.

Went to best buy and bought a new computer...Good?

I think so.

Sometimes it's so hard to tell good purchases from bad. In this case I bought the cheapest desktop I could find. $364 for a 1.8 gig. Not bad. With keyboard and mouse. They then gave me a giftcard with 50% of the value of the computer to the tune of about $180 bucks. Which i used to buy a thin monitor that was open boxed so knocked down to $90. Which leaves me with about $70 (after taxes on the monitor) to play with.

Then i bought a $20 computer desk...

So now I have a cheap street command central operation. It's nice, getting comfortable, but also a little scary. I am trying to find the sweet spot of 'stable but flexible'.

a mortgaged house-of-cards

Dodging a recession induced by mortgage industry bad loans is going to be tough especially when you factor in fluffed up overseas markets, an unstable dollar, over leveraged American consumers and tense political pressures around the world that are unfriendly to American interests.

get a life!

Do you know what an avatar is?

Sounds like a middle eastern word to me. Ali Baba and the quest of the avatar...

Virtual worlds are expanding at a rapid rate. One getting a lot press is second life.

This concept really got going with The Sims. Remember them? I don't know why the sims on line isn't out competing second life, but there it is...

Nonetheless, this is great stuff. I think this technology, as it gets better, is going to blur the lines between reality and virtual. In some individuals I am sure the line is blurring already. But the great thing, is maybe the line is meant to be blurred. Maybe society dreamed up the distinction in the first place.

This 'second life stuff' may be a great tool in helping us realize that 'there is no self' except what we project onto the self. Perhaps technology will help us orient ourselves within the spiritual universe much as it did in the physical universe. In both, we are not the center of that universe. The physical or the spiritual...

I wonder how many Christ or Buddha avatars there are in second life? Perhaps I will join second life and do what I always wanted to do...join a Buddhist monastery...

Which would buck the trend. Apparently there are is a lot of 'sex' in the second life. Perhaps it should be called, 'sexond life'. Cheezy I know...couldn't resist. See if I said that in second life you could punch me and not 'pay a price' in the real world.

But, I think your actions in second life (even though I have never experimented with it) will still have an impact upon your well-being. When you think about this 'game', it's very powerful and interesting stuff. I am not sure what it all means, but you can be sure I will be thinking about it...

the flip side to sdb

There is a flip side to self-destructive behavior (SDB). This time from the perspective of international politics...

Sometimes when attempting to act in one's own best interest, one's own best interest is undermined.

For instance, I was just reading in the San Francisco Chronicle that the US as a destination for foreign travelers is dropping and, obviously, so is that share of money that they spent here. We are being hurt as a collective nation (the nation is really a bigger version of one's identity...it's the next level up if you will) as a result of our choices as a nation which were made in what was thought to improve our standing.

I think this result, the fact that foreigners essentially have a distaste for us, is normal. It is the equivalent of an obnoxious individual in a room full of people declaring in a slightly drunken stupor on his own self-glorified success, "I'm going to get first in the buffet line, eat what I want and when I am done all you other pimps can eat what's left over!".

Who would want to sit at this guy's table? You? Me? I'll think i'll pass...

in favor of self-destructive behavior

I was at a party where everyone was smoking but me. As I was driving home I started to think,
"Why do people purposely do things that seem to undermine themselves and their own efforts? When people smoke, spend money frivolously, or even hurt themselves. Or when people just live very unhealthy lives, why?"

We often think, "What idiots!"

But, self destructive behavior (SDB) makes sense...

We know the contradictions involved in just living. SDB is a manifestation of that contradiction. It is the human coming to terms with the non-living part of themselves. The part that has to deal with the universal law that all clocks run down. The part that says, "if i want to let go and accept the laws of the universe, the laws that want to pull the very energy that give me life apart, then I have to accept the strings that hold my life together will sometime come undone..."

SDB is logical on some level...I think there is a better way to embracing the laws of the universe, but SDB is not 'logic'd' out. It just emerges...but why it emerges now makes sense to me...

job impermanence

I still have my job, but I anticipate for the day or time when I don't. I went through not having a job and attempting to be job free. I still think that is a good insurance policy. Developing your own means of self-sufficiency outside of the job market. When one becomes too dependent upon a job, a person gives up too much autonomy and control over their own destiny.

What is it about a job that we want?

A job should be a means to an end. A stepping stone to something greater. If you stop in a job, more mentally (that is get attached to it) than physically, you will either get screwed because you became dependent upon it or (if your job is stable) you will become bored and feel "is this it?". The best strategy is always look at a job as temporary...

not to look at it as a 'permanent' job...

'stable but flexible'. this concept sums up my approach to living now...i think selflessness, positivity, creativity, resourcefulness and flexibility are traits i most admire in others. and keys to a good life, i believe...

I think humans innately like to work. It's not the work part. I think it's the control or actually lack of control we have over our destiny is what causes dissatisfaction in the workplace.

A job can be one of the most dangerous aspects to a person's feeling of contentment and self-worth. I think of the movie, About Schmidt. In the end, what did he have? It's dangerous too look to a job for identity and/or worth. To look to a job and say, "I did this!", is asking to much of the job. But that's what we want to do as humans: create, build, leave a mark and we mistakenly look to the workplace to provide that.

I think that's one reason why people blog. One reason why I do. Even if I am the only person who reads it, that's okay. The ideas are out there. I feel I have imparted something to the universe.

I read a story many years ago. I can't recall the name. I was in Malaysia at the time and talking to a friend. She was really upset about man's destruction of the environment. I told her about this story I had read, even though I flipped it around and cast the message of the short story in a different light to illustrate a different point that what i think the author intended.

The story started with the last few seconds of the life of the last man left alive on the planet. He was dieing just as his society had died. In the last few breaths of his life, he made a mark...the mark of an "X" on a rock. He wanted to leave a mark of his existence. The story goes from there about how his "X" quickly was weathered away, and how eventually all the buildings and great monuments of man crumbled and succumbed to the earth and the universe by storms and earthquakes and geologic activity. How eventually the mark of man and his society, society's own "X', was erased from the face of the planet, and the universe. It was sad when I read the story.

But here, in Malaysia, my friend was upset about man scrubbing out the environment. That we were removing the "X" from that of other species. So I told her the story to illustrate that nature did prevail and survive in the end.

I don't know if it made her feel any better...the story is kind of depressing, isn't it?

It is interesting to think about though.

I visited the twin towers about four months before 11 september 2001. I walked up to the base of one of the towers and placed my hand on it and looked up and it's imposing and gigantic presence and thought in awe,

"Wow, these things will last forever..."

Four months later they were smoldering ruins.

Time and time again, we are reminded of how temporary things are. And yet we think of our jobs as being...

Permanent...