<$BlogRSDUrl$>

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

A time to write 

Well, how about this? I've got some time to kill and am somewhat inclined to blog. These days it seems like a rare combination. Let's see... of what shall I write?

Objectivist no more: There was an internet death in my life the week before last. Nick Otani was a fellow that I had "met" back when message boards were my craze. I qualify the "met" because, of course, I never spoke to the man in person. We conversed via the boards. Anyway, I had dropped out of his circle. First I started spending more online time reading blogs rather than message boards, then, when I went to China, I avoided his board lest one of his opinionated posts offend the Chinese authorities reading over my shoulder. So the other week, when I had lots of time to kill at work, I clicked on the link to his board and discovered in a post from his sister that he had died in April. I really had been away for a long time. I was saddened and wanted to make a memorial post. It was a bit hard to write. What could I say? "I'll miss him?" Well, yes, a bit, but obviously I hadn't missed him enough in the past half year to visit his board. "He's in a better place?" Well, he was proudly atheist. If my beliefs are correct, he--barring a last minute conversion--is not in a better place. And if his beliefs are correct, then he's just... not. In the end, I just said that I liked the guy and left it at that. The odds of someone actually reading it is slim, anyway. What an ephemeral thing, this internet.

Leave me here, Scotty: On a lighter note, I cruised by Sherri's blog the other day and saw that she had taken a quiz. It was a reincarnation quiz and her results showed her as being reincarnated as a Starfleet crewperson. Rather cool, I thought. This motivated my inner geek to try the quiz myself. I went through the process and I found myself scheduled to be reincarnated as... a Gypsy. (Actually, I'd prefer to be called a Rom, but what can I expect from you outsiders?) I was immensely pleased with that particular result. But then I had to take a step back. I prefer being a Roma nomad, living an itinerant life of relative poverty and great dance music, rather than being a crewman exploring the farthest reaches of the galaxy? I truly have changed since my younger days. Who would have thought?

Okay, I guess I didn't have that much time to kill...

Labels: , , ,