9/11 Blogging

Growing up, my parents would talk about remembering vividly where they were at the precise minute JFK was assassinated. With 9/11 in the rear-view mirror of about 7 years already, I think it's clearer to me today moreso than ever that 9/11 is that same kind of thing for me and probably most Americans of my generation. I was sitting in a cubicle at work when my wife called and told me what had just happened. Then I checked the Internet, and it being the primitive information device it was in 2001, I couldn't just go to youtube or digg and figure out what was going on. I had to read blogs, and blogs only (okay, maybe CNN a little, too). I remember that at the time, Instapundit was my homepage and so I kept hitting reload a lot on it. I don't remember reading this post, which is maybe his third or fourth after the towers were hit, but the part in bold still makes me smile, and I wonder if on that day if I didn't laugh out loud a little then.

MORE LOCAL NEWS: Not that anyone cares directly, except as a sign of what's going on in a lot of places. The federal courthouse in Knoxville has been evacuated and is closed. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory is under extremely heavy security. Our mayer, Victor Ashe, lost no time in condemning terrorism, which surely strikes fear in the hearts of the responsible parties. Local talk radio features surprisingly measured views: the local host Hallerin Hill is doing a superb job, showing anger but staying cool and stressing that we don't know much yet. Man-in-the-street interviews demonstrate a strong desire to obliterate the responsible parties, but no impulse to go off half-cocked. The nature of the response actually makes me quite proud.

Seriously, though, I thought this was interesting in retrospect.

MANY MAJOR MEDIA WEBSITES ARE GROANING UNDER THE STRAIN but Slashdot, home of industrial-strength geekdom, seems to be up to the load and is posting steady news updates.

Good ole slashdot. Who would've thought that site would play a role like that. I remember reading it constantly that day (when I should've been working), too.