Spirits in the mist prt2

 

Spirits in the Mist Prt2

 

Here I am again, with part two of my thoughts for the week.

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One of the main things this week, is, of course the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on New York two years ago. It was really one of those "where were you when ......" events. I remember first hearing the news in one of the most isolated parts of the local steel works. One of the workers there had his radio on in a cabin nearby, and came running out with a horrified look on his face. "An airliner had hit one of the towers, and now there is a second". It took several moments to realize what he had said. Then one of my colleagues, Nigel arrived. He was asked to come because he knew something of the cable layouts in this part of the site. He went on to explain what he had heard on the van radio on the way over. He had got into his van to the reports of the first strike, just to hear the horrifying reports of the second.

Of course , by the time we got home, it was all that was on the TV that evening. To be honest, I suspect, like most people here in the UK, that night was somewhat detached from reality. It was happening "over there". Somehow the USA deserved what they got for being the only real Superpower in the world.

Of course no deserves that kind of attack. And as the days wore on the effect became more apparent. People across the world where angry. The pictures of total devastation from Ground Zero where shown across the world to universal horror. To much horror in many ways. I found the continuous coverage, day after day, very disturbing (and even more so with the "Blow by Blow" coverage of Gulf War II). I know the world in not that safe a place to live, but when you received that news of this battle, that attack, a few hours after it happened, there was a safety cushion. A somewhat insulating time gap. But not now! It is in your face, and I'm not sure that I want to see it, let alone the kids.

In the two years since, we have had, or are still having, the "War on Terrorism", inclusive of the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. And for all that cost, is the world any safer?

Virus writers prey on Sept. 11 sentiment ZDNet Sep 11 2003 12:02PM ET - [via Moreover - ZDNet]

We have had stories of the "selling" of the last messages of those trapped in the Towers, and now we have those "idiots" playing on the occasion to cause more computer havoc. There really are some sick people in the world.

I know this post is a few days after the event, but we can still give a few moments thought for , not only those lost in 9/11, but those lost since, in Iraq especially, in recent months.

 

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After a couple of weeks that saw Ferrari implicated in an attempt to throw the rules in their favour by a "re-itteration" of the Tyre width rules, this weekend sees the Monza Grand Prix. For the first time in several years we have a championship race , and god is it good to see.

 

F1: Montoya sets Monza pace Juan Pablo Montoya is fastest in Friday's qualifying session at the Italian Grand Prix.

[via BBC News | World | UK Edition]

 

I am looking forward to the race tomorrow. Even after the "Tyres" thing (And seemingly the major beneficiary being Bridgestone tyres and a certain Mr Schumacher snr - coincidence?), its good to see that things are as they should be, with Juan setting the early pace yesterday.

British grand prix is hit by football - [via Guardian Unlimited: Formula 1]

This really made me laugh. After the various threats from Mr Ecclestone about losing the British Grand Prix (as we have Canada for next year), the people in charge have set the Grandprix date on the same Sunday as the Euro 2004 Final. Now on the basis that there is a fair chance that the England team (assuming qualification) could be there and there abouts, which bright spark picked that weekend.

F1: China, Bahrain get green light China and Bahrain will make their F1 debuts in 2004 - and Belgium's Spa circuit is back in favour after a year's absence.  - [via BBC News | World | UK Edition]

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Blogger Pro Version to Be Discontinued I received an email last night from Ev Williams, founder of Blogger.com, one of (if not the) original blog publishing platforms, to inform users that the advanced features of the Pro version will be folded into the free version of the system, and the paid version, which I seem to recall cost $35 a year, will be discontinued. Blogger was, of course, acquired by Google earlier this year. (Meryl) - [via Lockergnome's Technology News]

This story is, of course , close to my heart. Blogger was the very first blog I ever had (and still have). I, too , received the e.mail, as I have a paid account. For those of you who use Blogger , will have seen the big changes over the last month or two, and to some extent, the timing of this announcement has come at the right time (I'm was due "to put my hand in my pocket" next month). Does it all make Blogger easy to use?. I don't really know. Is the service now more secure, being in the hands of Google. I suppose that only time will tell. All I know - of the blogs I use, Xanga and Blogger are the most straight forward to us, for me at least.