10/19/01
More TK
The above means "More to come". It's what's used in publishing. I've completely forgotten the reason why the abbreviation for "to come" isn't "TC", but I"m quite certain that it isn't because the first editor who thought of it coudn't spell. Actually, I'm not certain. Change that to "I'm quite hopeful that it wasn't because the first editor who thought of the abbreviation couldn't spell". I have met many editors and writers who are, shall we say, spelling-challenged. My best friend can't spell her way out of a paper bag, but damn, she can write. We've come to the conclusion that there are two kinds of people in the world--those who care if words are spelled right, and those who don't. Actually, we've come to a lot of conclusions about people in the world, but what makes you think I'm going to transcribe hundreds, nay, thousands of hours of deep conversation that we've had over the past eleven years? Don't forget, part of my deep thoughts have become things you can read on these very pages, such as my Fish Heads Theory. Hey, I spent a lot of time perfecting these things. You can't have them all in one day. Be patient.--MAY
10/18/01
I give up
Okay, you made me do it. I changed my contact page so that people who want to send me email, but who don't want to jump through hoops (e.g., take two or three steps) to do so can now click on (sigh) a link. And now we'll have a tally of when and where the spam begins. As of this moment, zero spam via the feedback account even though I updated my stats on Internic long since. I'll let you know if things change.
Why am I doing this? Well, because you folks who read Salon have found me, and I'm trying to make it a bit easier to get in touch with me, although several people have already done so. Of course you realize, this means blogs. I've got to put up some new content that I get to think about rather than just react to, like the last couple of days worth of blogs.
Welcome, fellow Salon readers. Aren't you glad my name isn't Jane Smith?
(P.S. to my regular readers: The Salon folks are finding me by searching on my name in Google. Hence the comment above.)
10/17/01
More links
Those of you who want to laugh at Our Buddy Bin, click here. It's one Flash-heavy and fun site.
I've added Dave Winer's Scripting News Weblog to my links page. It's not just for programming geeks any more, although it's a good programmer's haven.
This is a great essay that I got via Dave's page.
Okay, now you can worry--a little
The anthrax-laden letter that was sent to Senator Daschle's office is the one that's pissing me off the most. They're trying to kill off Congress. Don't they know that we are the only ones allowed to advocate the extinction of our own governing body?
My guess is that this is the much-talked-about "second wave" that Our Buddy Bin (which is what he's now going to be called on these pages) had in mind. Of course, I may be wrong, but the fact that someone is mailing anthrax spores to our media outlets and to our governing bodies makes me think that perhaps--just perhaps--this anthrax outbreak isn't a natural occurrence.
And the fact that the Congressional anthrax letter is of the purest, most refined variety--a scary thought, when you realize someone has to spend a whole lot of money perfecting poison--it's increasingly obvious a nation is involved in this. The questions, of course: Did the former Soviet Union sell off its biological weapons and expertise to terrorists? Is it coming from Iraq or Iran? And what about Naomi?
Okay, that last question does give you hints about my age, but then again, maybe I saw "Love of Chair" in reruns.--MAY
10/16/01
This just in
Salon.com published my letter. I didn't think they had as I didn't get any notification from them. Guess they decided I'm on my own regarding fact-checking. I saw a couple of style changes, but for the most part, it's my words.
It's nice to get a letter published in such a prestigious--and downright good--online magazine. Especially since they must get hundreds of letters per day. If you're not a member of Salon Premium, you should be. It's only $35 a year, which is a pretty standard subscription price. And you don't have to recycle the old issues.
Why you and I won't get anthrax
It's pretty simple, really. We can even quote Emily Dickinson to get the point across: "I'm nobody. Who are you? Are you nobody too?"
In other words, if you don't work for a major media outlet, if you don't work for the government, if you don't work in a mailroom, and if you don't work for the Post Office, you're probably not going to be exposed to anthrax in any way, shape, or form. And if you're not exposed to it, you're not going to contract it.
There are many things to worry about in these uncertain times. Anthrax, for probably 99.9% of the nation, isn't one of them.
But they will
Here's something that might make you feel a bit more comfortable. They're not going to catch the anthrax terror brigade through backtracking mail. They're not going to catch them through any informant turning them in.
Be patient, I said it's going to comfort you.
Figure it out. How do you suppose the senders are putting the anthrax-laced powders into envelopes? Do you think they're wearing clean suits and using sophisticated rebreathing filter maks?
Uh-huh.
They're going to get anthrax themselves. You need to be exposed to at least 10,000 spores in order to get it. In order to deliver the kind of levels that are giving our people anthrax, the senders have to be exposing themselves to even higher levels.
You figure the FBI is checking hospitals in the south Jersey area? They should be.--MAY
10/15/01
Terror, terror, who's got the terror?
Okay. So there have been about a billion anthrax scares in the past week or so. Is anyone else tired of them? Then click here for a great explanation as to why you have nothing to fear from anthrax.
And on to the questions: Does anyone else think Rush Limbaugh mailed the anthrax to Tom Daschle?
Speaking of Rush Limbaugh, I've got a few jokes for you.
What did Rush Limbaugh say when his doctors told him he was going deaf?
"What?"
No? How about this one: What did Rush Limbaugh say when a listener suggested his deafness was a terrorist plot?
"What?"
Okay, so I'll roast in hell for it. But it had to be said. Okay, maybe it didn't have to be said, but I wanted to. Deal with it.
Can we mail a package of anthrax to Saddam Hussein? Maybe we could get the Unabomber to make it explode when he opens it, making sure he gets it. (More and more government agencies are starting to leak that Iraq supplied the anthrax now making the go-rounds here.)
Wait a minute. I'm thinking I've hit on a brilliant anti-terrorist plan. Really. Get the Unabomber to work for the FBI, and have him mail antrhax bombs (or hell, just regular bombs) to Al-Qaeda and bin Laden and any other terrorist we feel like taking out. Oh, c'mon, if even one got through, it'd be worth it!
Every time I hear the word "anthrax", I keep flashing on that scene in Yellowbeard where they're trying to pick a new name for the pirate, and his suggestions are "Professor Death! Professor Destruction! Professor Anthrax!"
By the way, years ago I was mistakenly informed by someone that anthrax was a disease brought on by screwing sheep. Anyone who has read the anthrax-info articles knows this is untrue. Amazing how that fact stuck in my mind all these years, though. Misinformation is stronger than truth, sometimes.
Do you know anyone stupid enough to have gotten Cipro from their doctor? Does that person realize that by taking medication when they're not sick, they're making themselves immune to future courses of antibiotics, and ultimately weakening themselves to diseases like anthrax? Catch-22 for cowards.--MAY
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