You know, 911 was always my lucky number as a kid. It was our locker number
at the tennis and swimming club that my folks belonged to. It was my locker combo at school. It kept recurring in my life with such frequency that I took it to be lucky. I would make important phone calls at 9:11 AM or PM.. I would hold my thumb… an austrian symbol of good luck and make a wish whenever I saw 911 .. on a clock, license plate, phone number, etc. The days Sept 11 or Nov 9th (in Europe they put day first) were always particularly auspicious.. In fact, Diane and I got engaged on Nov 9.. Sept 11 didn’t work because Diane had an exam.
   Then.. came 9/11 @001.. I remember I was giving a talk at the Math Department at U of Vermont. I had this watch that doubled as a pageer. When the first plane hit the world trade center my watch went off.. I read the short cryptic message about the attack on the small screen of my watch.. The room was silent.. A few minutes later, more messages.. as we all crowded around the tiny screen of my watch..
   Diane was away at a yoga training.. I drove home to be there when the kids came home.. I remember how hat whole day felt.. and the week after.. so vividly…

Every year since the echo of this day has felt strange.. This year there’s some bad energy around the burning of the Holy Quoran .. and the positioning of a mosque near ground zero. As a religious minority myself, I cna only hope that reason reigns eventually.. we need to learn not to hate.. no matter how hateful an enemy we see.. we have to learn tolerance of others beliefs and creeds .. no matter how hard that is. It’s not that love will fix the world.. there will always be extremists on all sides of all issues.. It’s just that Love has got to be our response to pain and suffering. We can’t control others.. only our own response. 

 I write the above as I’m about to board a plane to Sweden on 9/11.. It’s a wierd day to fly.. The TSA went through the science gear in my suitcase with a fine toothed comb.. I’m glad they did..  

More from Sweden tomorrow.
Nite all.. nite Sam
-me

Shana Tova.. Happy new year.. This evening is the start of Rosh Hashonah
the Jewish new year. Tonight starts 5771   . If you take that literally, 5771 years ago today was the 6th day of creation, the day that Ada and Eve were created.. As a sceintist, I take that metaphorically.. but whatever you believe.. tonight and tomorrow are important days for Jews everywhere. It’s the time you look back on the year just past and make your resolutions for the year that’ coming. We all wish to be inscribed in the book of life for the year.. and think of those that didn’t make it through the last.
There’s a part of the service where you those who are in mourning stay standing, while all others sit.. I remember thinking that one day I too would be standing.. I never thought it would come this soon in my life.
   My thoughts about organized religion have changed dramatically since Sam’s passing I’m now sure that any structure like organized religion that is created by humans…  can’t come close to describing the mysteries that make the world work.  At some level I’ve become much more spiritual.. at another..I’ve become much more of a pragmatist.. my g-d is behind the beauty of math and physics.   I have no quarrel with those who believe in more traditional religions.. .. It’s just different for me now.

Whatever you believe, I hope that this new year brings you health, happiness.. and brings more peace and understanding to the world..   we can still hope..   we must always hope.

shana tova everyone, shana tova sam
-me

ps. Tonight try eating  apples and honey for a sweet new year !

Since my day today involved lots of convoluted wok stuff I’m going to resort to showing stuff that didn’t happen today…

The first is a new video from IBM Social Media on the topic of location awareness. This new series has us looking at what’s going on in the world on topics related to our company’s Smarter Planet initiative. his one focus’s on work being done at MIT in the Sustainable Cities Lab under Prof. Assaf Biderman. Prof Biderman and his colleagues have managed to add location awareness to articles of trash.. and trace them once they leave our hands. The implications are very interesting e  Let me know what you think

The second thing that didn’t happen today was a commencement address I gave to the graduate school at Marlboro College a few weeks back. They recorded it.. so I’m putting it out there for comment. It was such a wonderful group of grads.. it was a memorable day…

OK.. that’s all that didn’t happen today.. hope your day was fun and uneventful

love you all.. love you Sam
-me