Once again, I find myself drained and exhausted after work. But a couple of brief items.

Matrix-hype revs up as the release of the sequel draws near. This insightful salon article hits it smack on the head, making some interesting observations about correlations between The Matrix and the economic bubble of 99, and what we might expect out of the new Matrix in the present state of the economy. (For those worried about spoilerific content, it contains none. Vague speculation, yes. But no spoilers.) A fair use quote or two:

Four years ago, at the height of technology economy, when geeks ruled the earth, the idea held sway. But the real world proved to be much less manipulable than any "hacker proof" database.

...

The stock market was roaring. We worked for companies that gave us flexible hours and a sense of empowerment we never thought possible in the corporate world. We were going to make history, change paradigms, and funk up the cube farms in some kind of Sandinista-worthy coup.

Instead, it's 2003 and we've taken the blue pill.

The final words of the article are SO true. (At least as it applies to my life.)

We are returning to the mundane work world we thought we'd outsmarted. But we'll still check Monster.com every morning for a new lead. We're looking for the red pill: to wake from our dismal apartments (like Neo's own), with half-read books filling the corners of the room, and begin work on something truly worth doing.

Amen to that.

[Bitscape surfs the web.]

I guess that's actually all I have to say right now. Good night.