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A Cry Heard Round The World: Kim Sun-Il died desperate and alone, but he did not die unheard.
Looking At And Longing For Mars: Reflections on a childhood dream.
A Robot May Not Harm a Human Being. Is The Opposite True?: Thoughts on the future rights of artificial intelligence.
Long After The Boys Of Summer Have Gone: What makes a relationship work?
Winter Of Our Feline Discontent: What the cat wants, the cat gets. But what DOES it want?
To Tell The Truth: There may be no honor among thieves, but can't we find it even in a few good men and women?
Should The Human Brain Retire?: We know that we cannot win forever. We know that machines will continue to improve. So why don't we let the human brain retire gracefully now, with honors?
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Published: Sep 16, 2005 01:40 PM
Wed - December 31, 2003
And Tidings of Comfort And Joy
2003 was a year to remember. Let's
hope that 2004 brings more good, less bad, and whole lot more common ground.
It's
December 31st! Time for bloggers everywhere to wax rhapsodic about what they
learned in 2003. I learned this year
that:
Ideas are important. When future scholars reflect upon the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st, they'll surely be struck by how often we fought about ideas. Communism versus capitalism, democracy versus totalitarianism, Judeo-Christian values versus Islamic ideals, tribalism versus nationalism, freedom of speech versus the need for cultural sensitivity–these are the threads that weave the tapestry of our time. The importance of good ideas and the danger of bad ones form the icons on that tapestry. In a tenuous time when even the "good guys" disagree about what is right and how to effect it, we face a U.S. War on Terror that sometimes threatens to imperil the very civil liberties it seeks to save, a BBC that refers to Saddam Hussein as the "deposed former president" of Iraq rather than as the dictator he was, and a French newspaper that would rather fire commentator Alain Hertoghe than take to heart his criticisms of French war coverage. Let's hope that 2004 brings the world renewed unity of purpose, perspective, and faith in common values.
Protecting ideas is important. The rise of blogs and the RIAA's civil actions against music lovers made intellectual property a dinner table topic this year. Swords and battle lines are drawn. But surely we can find new business models and improved legal tools in 2004 to protect inventors and content creators without stifling new media or imposing Palladium chips on consumers. As Benjamin Franklin said, we must all hang together, or most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.
Friendships are important. Writing is a solitary activity; blogging is not. Since beginning this blog in September, 2002, I've made many new friends that I've never met and probably never will. Dave Simerly was the first person to link to Bear Left, followed shortly thereafter by Tony Seneadza. Both these bloggers have gone on to deserved critical acclaim for their achievements since then—56,000 hits for Tony alone!—but what struck me most was how friendly they were when I first joined the blogosphere and could repay their hospitality only with thanks. I'm also grateful for the readership and kind words of newer blog friends, including Chewie, Beaty, Greg, Leela, Dave, Lex, and Michelle. And, of course, I count my blessings for the close friends who listened oh-so-patiently this year as I spewed the personal stuff I try to keep off this site, including Chrys, Shari, Judy, Stewart, and Dave.
Family is important. My father and I have never been close, but when he slipped into a coma and nearly died of a stroke this year, our relationship took on a new sense of urgency and perspective. The experience brought my brothers, my mother, and me closer than we ever had been. And he survived. So there is still time to make amends for the past.
Marriage is important. Getting married this year frightened me at first. It seemed so permanent and so irreversible. What if I proved to be a terrible husband? What if she proved to be Medusa incarnate? What if—in the cold light of reality—I awoke one day to realize I had made a mistake? "Or what if you just chilled out and stopped obsessing about it?" my fiancee, Barrie, suggested. And of course she was right about that, as she has been about so many things. In a crazy world, Barrie is a rock. She accepts who I am and keeps me sane. "Why she married an Oaf like you is beyond me," my brother said. (Actually, I'm more of a Hobbit than an Oaf, but let's keep that little secret between us).
All in all, it has been an eventful 2003. Happy New Year and best wishes for a healthy, peaceful, and prosperous 2004!
P.S. At a certain feline's insistence, I add for the record that I am also grateful for the cat—though sometimes more grateful than at other times.
Ideas are important. When future scholars reflect upon the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st, they'll surely be struck by how often we fought about ideas. Communism versus capitalism, democracy versus totalitarianism, Judeo-Christian values versus Islamic ideals, tribalism versus nationalism, freedom of speech versus the need for cultural sensitivity–these are the threads that weave the tapestry of our time. The importance of good ideas and the danger of bad ones form the icons on that tapestry. In a tenuous time when even the "good guys" disagree about what is right and how to effect it, we face a U.S. War on Terror that sometimes threatens to imperil the very civil liberties it seeks to save, a BBC that refers to Saddam Hussein as the "deposed former president" of Iraq rather than as the dictator he was, and a French newspaper that would rather fire commentator Alain Hertoghe than take to heart his criticisms of French war coverage. Let's hope that 2004 brings the world renewed unity of purpose, perspective, and faith in common values.
Protecting ideas is important. The rise of blogs and the RIAA's civil actions against music lovers made intellectual property a dinner table topic this year. Swords and battle lines are drawn. But surely we can find new business models and improved legal tools in 2004 to protect inventors and content creators without stifling new media or imposing Palladium chips on consumers. As Benjamin Franklin said, we must all hang together, or most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.
Friendships are important. Writing is a solitary activity; blogging is not. Since beginning this blog in September, 2002, I've made many new friends that I've never met and probably never will. Dave Simerly was the first person to link to Bear Left, followed shortly thereafter by Tony Seneadza. Both these bloggers have gone on to deserved critical acclaim for their achievements since then—56,000 hits for Tony alone!—but what struck me most was how friendly they were when I first joined the blogosphere and could repay their hospitality only with thanks. I'm also grateful for the readership and kind words of newer blog friends, including Chewie, Beaty, Greg, Leela, Dave, Lex, and Michelle. And, of course, I count my blessings for the close friends who listened oh-so-patiently this year as I spewed the personal stuff I try to keep off this site, including Chrys, Shari, Judy, Stewart, and Dave.
Family is important. My father and I have never been close, but when he slipped into a coma and nearly died of a stroke this year, our relationship took on a new sense of urgency and perspective. The experience brought my brothers, my mother, and me closer than we ever had been. And he survived. So there is still time to make amends for the past.
Marriage is important. Getting married this year frightened me at first. It seemed so permanent and so irreversible. What if I proved to be a terrible husband? What if she proved to be Medusa incarnate? What if—in the cold light of reality—I awoke one day to realize I had made a mistake? "Or what if you just chilled out and stopped obsessing about it?" my fiancee, Barrie, suggested. And of course she was right about that, as she has been about so many things. In a crazy world, Barrie is a rock. She accepts who I am and keeps me sane. "Why she married an Oaf like you is beyond me," my brother said. (Actually, I'm more of a Hobbit than an Oaf, but let's keep that little secret between us).
All in all, it has been an eventful 2003. Happy New Year and best wishes for a healthy, peaceful, and prosperous 2004!
P.S. At a certain feline's insistence, I add for the record that I am also grateful for the cat—though sometimes more grateful than at other times.