hebig.org/blog

In the early days of The Pennsylvania Gazette a contribution was brought into the office with the request that [Benjamin] Franklin publish it. According to Isaiah Thomas's history of printing in America, Franklin asked that the piece should be left to the following day, when he would decide about printing it. "The person returned at the time appointed," Thomas has written, "and received from Franklin this communication: 'I have perused your piece and found it to be scurrilous and defamatory. To determine whether I should publish it or not, I went home in the evening, purchased a twopenny loaf at the baker's, and with water from the pump made my supper; I then wrapped myself up in my great-coat, and laid down on the floor and slept till morning, when, on another load and a mug of water, I made my breakfast. From this regiment I feel no inconvenience whatever. Finding I can live in this manner, I have formed a determination never to prostitute my press to the purposes of corruption, and abuse of this kind, for the sake of gaining a more comfortable subsistence.'"

Ronald W. Clark, Benjamin Franklin, a Biography. Da Capo Press, 1983. Blatantly taken from Ftrain.com.

Ftrain.com? The world of Paul Ford. "The primary goal of Ftrain.com, the goal which all other goals serve, is to make the site fully conscious and self-aware by 2051. Conservative estimates place computer power as equaling brainpower by then, and after 10,000 nodes [in the XML data tree] (200 a year for 50 years), there should be enough inside the site for it to come to its own conclusions. I will return to this topic at a future date." The table of content lists about 900 nodes, 900 pieces of text so far.