Funky thing to say today: it's not the apple but the person who hands it to you.

I missed a visit of Cecelia the Brazilian Girl while I was out.

I sat and watched a teevee show on the Fox network called the World's Scariest Police Chases or something like that. It featured much spectacular footage of horrible auto accidents, some of which resulted in death! Such programming was unthinkable a few years ago. But the public's demand for video carnage has risen, and the marketability of programming such as this far outweighs any negative ramifications from the "too much violence on teevee" carpers. I'm ambivalent about what such programming does to the quality of teevee since while it is geared to the reptilian part of my brain that revels in the tragedy of others, it is still just plain stunning video. If I had video like that it WOULD be on the Web in a heartbeat.

Before falling asleep for an especially early beginning of my pre-work nap came the arrival of Bn. He'd brought over a keyboard that had been collecting dust over at Main Street Guitar and Drum. It was the same model as the one I'd seen yesterday in Snooky's, and all was fine with it except some of the controls were stuck by some sort of accidental gluing process. He'd decided to loan it to me after learning of yesterday's keyboard-obtainance-failures in my musings. I played with it a little and he showed me some basic things about how to use it. It has a fairly cheesy sound, which isn't so bad when you consider what my effects pedals can do. But it also automates much of the process of rhythm construction. This automation comes at a price though; it all fits within the realm of stiff little pre-defined templates such as "Waltz," "Slow Rock," etc. I could view it as tool or a straightjacket. Still, I have had luck with similar synthesizers in the past. I created a beautiful musical composition on my Commodore 128 computer when I was 17 called "The Tadpole" programming a chip that was probably simpler than the one in this keyboard.

Bn claims that this is it; he has finally broken up with Helen for good. Apparently it is an amiable break up, but still, it is having social consequences. During his two-and-a-half-year-long realtionship, Bn neglected his other friendships and social connections and now finds himself socially isolated. I told him that it would be cool for us to hang out together more and that he should come by occasionally. I'm sympathetic to his plight since his current anæmic social situation is much like mine was when Leslie Montalto (a girlfriend I'd had for two years) broke up with me in Oberlin, Ohio in late August, 1994. Or, to a lesser extent, like Monster Boy's current situation.

I hated waking up from my pre-work nap tonight. I'd been having strange dreams in which I had another name and a bureaucratic job. Somehow they involved Jessika.

Katherine DeGood and Deohjee the Alsatian were hanging out with Ches and maybe John in the living room as I left for work. I passed a very belligerent slate-grey pussycat on the front porch yowling through the door at Deeohjee.

I thought some about Dolly the cloned sheep today. Over the weekend researchers in Scotland announced that they have cloned an adult sheep and that the clone's name is Dolly. It seems the future is coming faster and more furiously every day. First it was life on Mars and now it's mammal clones. As I recall, just the other day "James" was in Sam 'n' Ellas telling me that wholesale chromosomal replacement in mammal cells was a long way off or impossible. Soon it seems my genes really will be available on a CD-ROM.

Private Cyber-Censorship

• Cyber-censorship companies consider the specifics of what exactly their software filters block to be trade secrets. Thus no one is supposed to know what is filtered; parents are apparently expected to buy such software on faith that doing so is "the right thing." Hysteria about pornography on the web is their main marketing tool.

• Brian Milburn, the president of Solid Oak Software, which made and markets the CyberSitter Net-filtering software, has threatened LEGAL ACTION against individuals in the media who have brought to light the fact that among the things filtered by these "products-for-the-paranoid-parent" are the sites of the National Organization for Women and a number of religious organizations, as well as whole domains in which small amounts of any kind of controversial or otherwise interesting content may be found.

• Not only are controversial sites and domains with diverse content filtered by Solid Oak's CyberSitter, but so are all sites and domains containing sites critical of CyberSitter and other net-filtering products. In the safe world walled off Cold-War-Berlin-style by CyberSitter there are no questions raised about the Wall.

• This would be a laughable situation, but supposedly 900,000 copies of Cybersitter are now in use and a number of public libraries are installing this and other net-filtering software on public net workstations. Effectively this gives government support and legitmacy to one corporation's secret idea of what objectionable content is.

Interesting Sites concerning Private/Semi-Private Cybercensorship Issues

Banned

Peacefire-an organization of youths organized against the forces of cyber paranoia and filtering.

Center For Educational Priorities-what is really behind the fears of what children may learn?

The Net Labelling Delusion-the first step towards destruction is labelling the offending people, animals or objects, be they Jews in Germany or errors in a draft of an essay. "Voluntary labelling" of material for possible exclusion is a slippery slope that can lead to government mandates and censorship.

Net News Article

Programs and Advice for Disabling Net Filtering Software-take control of the information flow into your mind.

The Villains: those whose ticket to money and orgasms is deciding what the world may tell you. Flood them with multi-megabyte e-mail attachments!

Innovative Protection Solutions Corporation-developers of Triple Exposure for Windows, a computer pornography probe. Supposedly "an alternative to ineffective Internet filtering and blocking software."

Diversified Associates International (DAI)-involved in business and software development. The latest software product called "Parental Discretion" helps paranoid parents protect precious children from Internet pornography.

Library Safe Internet System-server-based internet filtering system to prevent access to pornography, uncomfortable ideas and fraud.

Fresh Software Company-parental control software that allows parents to block programs from precious children .

Net Nanny-the name itself is enough to inspire nausea.

Solid Oak Software-if the "problem" was Jews these guys would be building the ovens.

KinderGaurd

Cyber Patrol-for the repressive parent who has everything.

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