The project started in 1920, ended in 1927, connecting New Jersey and New York under the Hudson. The Holland Tunnel was named after the chief engineer, which isn’t typical; that’s more of a science thing than a construction thing. It’s a national historic landmark.

NYCRoads.com entry on the Holland Tunnel

Science of the Holland Tunnel

Holland Tunnel wikipedia entry

Holland Tunnel fire of 1949

Images of the Holland Tunnel

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The clearest memory I have of the Holland Tunnel isn’t a particularly pleasing one. Two weeks after 9/11, Lisa and I visited NYC (at the time, a ghost town). The tunnel was closed going into the city. On the way out, we saw it, violent and stark: the smoldering ruins of where the towers once stood. It was surreal. Usually, the traffic to and from the Holland Tunnel is packed. That night, it was deserted. We drove well below the speed limit taking in the sight. It’s impossible to describe how shocking the view was, especially given that only a month prior we were standing on the very top of the towers with Mare and Michael.

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Even so, the Tunnel is comforting. It feels like an old friend. Nothing changes in the tunnel, including the old soot covered white tile. On the face, it doesn’t impress, even though there is some great technology behind it. It is what it is: iconic.

So, I needed to reformat my laptop because the xp installation was broken (my fault, experimented a bit too much). I had misplaced my copy of XP, so I downloaded one from the internet, with the intention of using my legitimate serial key. The version I found on the internet had SP3 slipstreamed* into the disc already, so that would’ve saved thirty minutes.

I learned that the serial keys aren’t inter-changeable between OEM and Retail licenses. In other words, if you have a serial number printed on the bottom of your laptop or on your PC, you must use an OEM version of XP; if you purchased XP from the store, you can’t use that serial number on your machine.

While I know several methods of breaking WGA, I much prefer just using the license key that I did actually pay for (since the XP license is built into the cost of the machine).

*Slipstreaming: you can take your original installation disc, download the network service pack from microsoft, and follow the instructions to combine the two. This way, your computer is up to date after a fresh install and won’t require several hours of downloading patches.

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Georgia Guidestones
The Georgia Guidestones are also referred to as the American Stonehenge given its size, solar alignment and the overall mystique associated with the structure. The Guidestones offer advice to a populace that is presumably devastated by some sort of foreign attack (terrestrial? extra-terrestrial?) in several different languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, Hebrew, Hindi, Russian, Spanish, and Swahili. Further, the Guidestones don’t offer any particular religious insight but instead outlines a new society based on reason and mysticism. The suggestions in English are as follows:

Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 In perpetual balance with nature
Guide reproduction wisely — Improving fitness and diversity
Unite humanity with a living New language
Rule passion — faith — tradition And all things With tempered reason
Protect people and nations With fair laws and just courts
Let all nations rule internally Resolving external disputes In a world court
Avoid petty laws and useless officials
Balance personal rights with Social duties.
Prize truth — beauty — love — Seeking harmony with the Infinite
Be not a cancer on the earth — Leave room for nature — Leave room for nature

It’s pretty interesting that this monument appears deep in the Bible Belt, especially given that some of these guidelines are at odds with Catholicism/Christianity.

I’m definitely not doing the beauty of this creation justice. Make sure to check the first source for an in depth article by Wired magazine.

Sources [1, 2]