Sinus infection; "whatever I have never actually goes away, but constantly mutates; William Gibson: "Something that's often been pointed out to me in the last 10 years is that pornography has been, throughout the modern era, at the cutting edge of every new technology." also "cell phones have altered the 'psycho-geography' of places."; not going to work - low-grade fever

Today all the flags I saw seemed pinned against the sky.

Within an hour of being at work Tuesday, I began to feel slightly dizzy. This is always one of the telltale signs of the start of a sinus problem. Fortunately, I was able to get an doctor's appointment at 11:30. The nurse did the standard tests and said my blood pressure was up and that I had a low-grade temperature. The doctor popped in, probed, looked and listened and said he had some drug samples he could give me. The nurse soon returned with antihistamines/decongestants and antibiotics. Once I finished lunch, I came home and went to bed.

Somewhere in the middle of all this, I started muttering to myself about the fact that I had just gone through this scenario a few weeks ago. I sometimes think that whatever I have never actually goes away, but constantly mutates. So that I can expect a new and delightful disease every three or four weeks.

Last night, I read an interview in "Yahoo! Internet Life" with William Gibson who coined the term "cyberspace." His first novel, "Necromancer," created the sci-fi-cyber sub-genre. One of the most intriguing comments he made was about porn.

"Something that's often been pointed out to me in the last 10 years is that pornography has been, throughout the modern era, at the cutting edge of every new technology. I didn't know until quite recently that the Union army in the Civil War marched with massive quantities of the first mass-produced pornographic photography. Matthew Brady-era Civil War porn. Some is charming; some is as brutally hard-core as anything you'd see today."

Later in the interview, he mentions how cell phones have altered the "psycho-geography" of places. In the past, if you saw people on the street, you knew their primary environment was that street. But with the cell phone, their psycho environment might be anywhere.

PAX!