The public has no reasonable expectation to my privacy. I have every reason to expect to be able to walk along the sidewalk without cameras secretly watching me as does any regular citizen.
The U.S. embassy in Tehran was overrun 35 months, 9 days, after 11/26/1976. I recognize the date 11/26/1976 as when I landed on the Jupiter moon Callisto. I was fortunate to find water ice there which I converted to oxygen in time to replenish my supply before it ran out. I returned to Earth on 4/14/1977 after successfully diverting the comet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_hostage_crisis
The Iran hostage crisis was a diplomatic crisis that lasted from November 4, 1979, through January 20, 1981. Members of the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, a group of militant university students who were supported by the new Islamic regime, held 63 diplomats and three additional U.S. citizens hostage inside the American diplomatic mission in Tehran, Iran.
The captors released several captives, but 52 hostages remained until the conclusion of the crisis.[1] During the crisis the United States attempted a rescue operation, Operation Eagle Claw. The operation failed and resulted in the deaths of five USAF Airmen and three US Marines.
Some political scientists argue that the crisis was one of the primary reasons for U.S. President Jimmy Carter's loss in the U.S. Presidential Election of 1980.[2]
The crisis reached its conclusion with the signing of the Algiers Accords. On January 20, 1981, the hostages were formally released into United States custody after spending 444 days in captivity. The release took place just minutes after Ronald Reagan was officially sworn in as president.
This is pretty funny, in the sense that I think it means President Reagan was still expecting me to turn up alive at some point. I recognize the date 11/25/1986, shortly after this speech, as when my family had a funeral service for me, thinking I had been killed in action in Africa.
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=36729&st=&st1=
Remarks on the Observance of National Philanthropy Day
November 14th, 1986
Thank you very much. I have just read a clipping this morning from the United Press that shows how the private sector is spreading and things of this kind in philanthropy; that the First Lady of the Soviet Union has been named to the board of directors of a private, and privately financed, group in the Soviet Union. But I appreciate this opportunity to be with you today in recognition of one of America's greatest national treasures: the spirit of philanthropy that is so evident among our people.
When I was a lad growing up in the Midwest in Dixon, Illinois, we took this to he Americanism. And each and every one of us knew what kind of town we had and what kind of country we had. And it was all up to us. And although we were not as well off as many in town, my mother was always involved in projects for the less fortunate. She could always find somebody that was worse off than we were. I can still remember her doing a little baking of pies and cakes, and then finding out with quite some disappointment that they were for the sick lady down the street. [Laughter]
Just like every other kid in our town, I was a beneficiary of this spirit of community. I did a lot of talking about this out on the campaign. Part of it for me meant being a member of the YMCA Boys Band; I was the drum major. And during the recent election there'd be some high school bands at the political rallies, and I would tell some of these young people the story about what happened to me in that band. We were invited to go to a smaller town nearby on Memorial Day and to march in the parade. And we found out that we were at the head of the parade. The only thing in front of us was the parade marshal on a big white horse. And we started off down the street; and I'm with that baton, which was bigger than I was. And suddenly, he rode back down the parade line to make sure that everything was coming along all right. And I'm going down the street, leading the band and the music began to sound a little faint. [Laughter] And I sneaked a glance back. He had caught up with the front of the parade just in time to turn the band down an intersection, and I was walking up the street all by myself. [Laughter] I cut across backyards and so forth and scrambled to get in front of the band about another block away.
JOURNAL ARCHIVE: 04/13/07 11:20 PM
This reminds me of a very clear "memory" I have, from my artificial life, of standing on the bow of the USS Taylor and pointing out a water spout that had formed to our starboard side.
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/04/13/148650.aspx
There's fresh imagery this week from NASA's robotic emissaries at Mars, including video of dust devils spinning through the Spirit rover's field of view and pictures of a scary-looking route down to the floor of the crater that the Opportunity rover is investigating. This comes in addition to the latest view of the Face on Mars, provided by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
04/13/07 11:22 PM
I also have a very vague sense of seeing a dust devil on land somewhere, but the full memory eludes my consciousness.
JOURNAL ARCHIVE: 04/14/07 4:20 AM
I had the suspicion that Microsoft-Corbis was breaking into my house for many reasons. One of those reasons had to do with my shoe rack. I had the feeling after Jon Langdon was in the apartment of mine at Limestone, he noted my shoe rack in my closet and might have been gossiping with people at Microsoft about how organized I was. My desk wasn't always so organized, so its little things like that which betray an undercover operative.
04/14/07 4:23 AM
But there is no real solution. You can fool the terrorists some of the time, but you won't fool the terrorists all of the time.
