2002 JUL 12 DO YOU TRUST YOUR BINARIES?

So, I'm not quite Johnny Mnemonic. It seems I only have the ability to recall impressions of what I've seen or heard. Almost never is it verbatim. And even those impressions become vague as time passes.

I lack the ability to cement the foundations of a process. I cannot remember day by day, the actions I take and the thoughts I have. What: I cannot remember your name? But I do remember your face. Weren't you there at that thing where that guy who had that thing did that thing? Yeah! Wait, no. That presents no solution; it only burdens my mind more with thoughts of loss.

But don't worry, I'm not taking my ability to vaguely remember for granted. Optical disks and memory chips can store concrete memories, what happened, when it happened, how it happened. But it fails completely to tell me how I felt as it happened. Only I can explain that, only I can feel that. And so, this is where we part:

Everything that is important to my next day's existence, I have in my brain, in my mind. It is—it must be ingrained in the cores of my neurons. Everything else is a peripheral thought and need, one that, if scraped away by some unfortunate disaster, will not affect how I live my life.

So, do I trust my binaries? No, not really. From this moment on, it's not a question of keeping up in pace with the mechanical. But rather, it's an issue of knowing when to think for yourself and remember that the important things in life are never measured in ones and zeroes.