In October 2001, I was blogging about nothing, apostrophes, the anthrax scare, and Boilerplate

In October 2001, I was blogging about

• Nothing Matters. (A teaching metaphor that had a big impact on my pedagogy… I’m glad I had the occasion to revisit it. Even when I blogged it 20 years ago there were a lot of broken links on the site, but the main idea is still completely valid)
• The Apostrophe Protection Society
• Job Hunting Tips (satire from The Onion)
• Walking Sports Database Scorns Walking Sci-Fi Database
• The need for editors on the Web
• Boilerplate: Mechanical Marvel of the 19th Century (a steampunk robot photoshopped into historical photos creates an alternate history timeline that fooled many, including some of my students)
• Two articles related to the the-current “terrorists sending anthrax-via-mail” scare
  • The end of snail mail?
  • “Real” Deal about Nuclear, Bio and Chem Attacks
    (at a time when America was panicking about a mysterious public health scare, this random post went viral for its common-sense assurances such as “These weapons are about terror, if you remain calm, you will probably not die.” “Your best protection is fresh air and staying calm.”) I realize that I have internalized some of this poster’s claims, and filed them under “things I know,” even though when I first blogged this in 2001 I did so with the caution, “I have no idea how useful this article really is.