outbound traffic

As news of the failure of the internet percolated around the interwebs today, a dropped anchor off Alexandria causing this disruption, I was reminded of a remarkable story 11 years ago in Wired, called Mother Earth Mother Board, in which Neil Stephenson tracked the “meat space,” or physical nature of the internet. As the fates would have it, one of the world’s major intersections of the web is in Alexandria, on the same space as the fabled library of Alexandria.

Interesting to note that, for millennia, that same singular location has been dedicated to the sharing of knowledge, and that with a seemingly small act–a spark, a dropped anchor–both could so easily be taken away.

And, just how much the net has changed since this article was written, in that now we can just zoom right over to it. Google is the new library of Alexandria then, I suppose

The news from South Carolina is staggering: 54% of the state voted for Obama, more than Edwards and Clinton combined. Do I miss Bill Clinton? Yes. Do I want his wife to be president? No.

But President Obama, perhaps w/ Clinton as VP? John McCain could exhume Reagan’s fetid corpse and waive it like a flag, and still get crushed.

As the Times pointed out the other day, the whole world really is watching. Facing the incredible challenges of the future, a time when the very warp and weft of the American landscape is going to be stretched to the limit, more than ever we need a leader who represents the American Idea, which has too often in the past been mistaken for the same old boring white men who’ve come to be taken for its representative.

America is predicated on ideas; in fact, it’s all we really have in common with each other, a shared set of ideas about how a divergent group of people can come together and make a life, and a country. Background, history, all that is so thin on the ground here, too often mined completely out. We need continual refreshment of the Idea of who we are; reflections on who we were, as John McCain is wont to do, will only comfort us in our slow demise, not lead us forward.

Is he young? Yes. Is he a person of values? Unquestionably. Has he had to trade his beliefs to get to where he is today? Not one lick. And perhaps, just perhaps, an energetic person of integrity and vision, whose skin reflects the mosaic that is America, might just also be the person to help heal centuries of hurt, and in so doing finally unleash the real untested promise this country has been saving up for the time it’s needed most.

Right person. Right values. Right time. Say it out loud, he’s Barack and I’m proud.

Reconnecting with an old, old friend whom you’ve no spoken to in almost ten years, only to find you’ve not skipped a beat, is the Best. Thing. Ever.

Most often, Mark Morford’s columns fill me with rage. But today, just a glimmer of hope.

Here’s the whole thing, and for those too lazy to read that much, here’s the nut graph:

“However, we do seem to be at this weird flash point, a privileged moment in political history where the anti-Bush recoil has become so potent and the right-wing collapse is so profound and the women/youth vote (at least at the moment) seems so invigorated that it all might coalesce just right and catapult a woman or a black male into the presidency, despite the hardcore misogyny and racism built like a cancer into the framework of this nation. Hey, stranger things have happened. ”

Indeed. I still believe in a thing called Hope.

After watching the spin and ‘analysis’ that passes for reflection in our media, I feel compelled to offer up my own thoughts on all of the candidates, in no particular order.

Obama–brilliant, but too young. he has the poise to be handling it well, but he’s not seasoned enough. too bad, because he is reflective, and thoughtful, but the job is the big leagues. that said, if he got it, he’d do more than any other to reconstruct our global relationships—he’s smart enough to understand nuance, something he doesn’t hide in his campaign speeches, a big plus in my book.

Clinton–consider this: she wants the job in the world that requires the strongest convictions possible, yet her conviction that marriage is something sacred has been kicked around for 25+ years. bill cheats. a lot. and she doesn’t do anything about it. what does she believe in? name one policy she’s passionate about? she’s passionate about being in the mix, not good.

Edwards–I read his book, and was surprised to find I liked his point of view, and more importantly, appreciated it when we disagreed. Smart, savvy, has walked the talk–my pick of the bunch.

Richardson– really top drawer guy, he could be in the same place as obama this race, cept his candidacy didn’t catch fire. he’s like one of those cindarella teams during the college hoops contests–every year there’s on long shot that captures the imagination, and some go all the way. would make a great VP.

Huckabee–what caused him to win Iowa will cause him to loose elsewhere. His beliefs dont’ play well with people who are educated and culturally diverse, because they’re the same ones those people left behind decades ago. He’s over after this week.

McCain–note how his campaign was over, then suddenly he’s back in the mix? The guy learned his lesson from last time, and won’t get blindsided like he did by Rove in South Carolina ( where IS Rove hiding these days, anyway?). He’s a long term guy, I think he can go the distance.

Romney–no one likes him for him, because nobody knows him. I do, I worked with him on the Olympics. Solid administrator, makes the trains run on time. Doesn’t have the practice to be able to change policies, like on abortion, and make it work. His campaign will hollow out in the next two weeks, watch.

Paul–the nut job will turn out the faithful in NH and SC, then it’s over.

Thompson–I don’t know why he’s in the race. I don’t think he does, either. Doesn’t have the fire in the belly the job needs.

Guilliani–speaking of fire in the belly, that’s all he is. I’ll bet there aren’t five people in a thousand who have the same mix of beliefs as this guy, outside of New Yorkers. He is a rapacious, self indulgent, non-reflective brawler dressed up to look nice, but not someone we want to send over to negotiate with the neighbors. At least Bush can appear charming. Guilliani fails on even passing examination. He’s done after Florida.

So there you have it. McCain and Edwards, the latter perhaps running with Obama for a winning combination.  Let’s check back in June and see who’s right, shall we?

Want to know why Iowa voted for that ridiculous, ignorant, squirrel-cookin-in-his-popcorn-maker, Mike Huckabee?

Cause if they didn’t, his boy CHUCK NORRIS, ACTION HERO FIGHTER!!, seen here right behind Huck, as always, lurking, poised– would have kicked their ass.

New Hampshire, you’re next!

My good friend Steve Jones had a story fall through at the last minute for his Green City column at the San Francisco Bay Guardian, and so he ended up taking what was going to be a story about the Black Rock Solar project, and padded it with a lot of background info about me, to end up with this.

After meeting James Hanusa with Envision Solar at Thinkers Cafe this morning, to talk about how we might use some of their bitchin’ solar carports in upcoming projects, I grabbed a Bay Guardian and wheeled the baby officeward.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I read the story. As Steve said later, “yea, I guess I should have warned you it was about, well, you.”

Yea, but then again, the surprise was nice, too. Insert blushing -here-.

At least he mentioned Richard and the padewans, and the MMA folks as well–they’re the ones doing the work.