We had to replace our water heaters today and that gave me an opportunity to clean out the large closet that leads to the attic.  I found two old suitcase filled with stuff from my former (read: single) life - an ticket to the first hockey game at the Ice Palace in Tampa in 1996, license plates from cars I've owned in NY and Florida, souvenirs from a road trip I took to Toronto back in 1990 with a friend for his birthday, etc.  I also found a journal of memories that I wrote out on a plane trip back from Madrid in 1995.  I had gone there with my college roommates just for the hell of it.  The thing that strikes me about the journal, which I probably hadn't read since I wrote it, was how full of single, 30-year old guy angst  it was.  If it wasn't for the expressions of desire for all the women of Spain and a particular girl back home, I'd love for my wife to read it.

**********

Very interesting interview with Yigal Carmon, the founder of MEMRI (Middle East Media Research Institute) on change in the Muslim world.  MEMRI was founded ten years ago to translate media and educational tools from the Muslim world into English so that people in the West would be more aware (or alert, as one might put it) as to what the people in that region are being told by their governments and religious leaders.

**********
The NY Times has a new blog called The Lede written by Tom Zeller, Jr.  Just looking through it briefly, it seems to be exactly what I would want the Times to be like in the future - it's uch more informative than reading the standard news articles because the stories have LINKS - wow, what a concept!  Welcome to the 20th century, NY Times.  I hope there's more of this.