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I rarely have the pleasure of remembering dreams, and still less
frequently do I find them interpretable. I offer the following as an
exceptional case, because it did immediately help me through some knots
and provided almost literally some needed direction for the next stage
of work on the EGG project. I will append some brief notes on that
work. Here is the dream description, written first thing after waking.
98-09-10
Woke from a dream at about 07:30. I received a large package that
contained all the apparatus for helping a baby lion be born. The mother
was "frozen" I guess, but somehow would be alive and give birth to a
live cub. There was much technological apparatus. The first part was a
practice. A baby's foot would be born. I now don't remember the
instructions much but there was a long tube to unroll, and some personal
preparations, maybe just washing. I strung up the tube, which was thin,
like an eighth of an inch in diameter, there was a sort of receiving box,
and it seems some thing like a switch that I must press to start the
process. Then there was some long waiting, and even some feeling of
urging, comforting, helping, some squeezing? ... finally there was a
bulge in the tube and it expanded to a diameter large enough for a paw
about the size of a man's finger; the paw and a part of the leg, a forepaw.
The paw proceeded through the tube, which became semi-transparent from the
stretching, and finally issued into the containter, a little touch of
blue, like stains in the matted fur, but really a paw and pretty big, maybe
the right thing for a lion. There was someone else involved, but I only
remember he (or possibly she) had no more experience than I. We were
pretty drained from all this, and decided to pack up and rest, and learn
more before proceeding. There was a little difficulty with a tangle in
the tubing, but it finally resolved. More stuff about how to arrange
things better. I was also worrying over how long the frozen
mother lion could be kept so, and beginning to realize there must be
some far more sophisticated stuff involved than mere freezing. I think,
for example, the package was not big enough for a full grown lion. This
and some other logics brought me awake.
Seems very easy for me to interpret: We, the EGG crew, have successfully
birthed a beautiful practice lion, at least the paw, and must learn more,
must read (write?) the instruction manual before we turn on the system
with a live, public presence.
*****
Planning for next stage, growth of the EGG network:
The primary linkages are made and we are now taking data that are
well-qualified, though we still need some synchronization work, and
probably a little more testing before we can say fully-qualified.
This means we are ready in a fundamental sense to begin directly
recruiting more egg hosts, and I have a few who are in fact ready.
Practically, there is still much to be done to make the setup of
new eggs possible. There are several options that we may pursue:
1. Recruit friends, and egg-friendly people, who run unix or linux
systems. They will need:
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REG/RNG device
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Eggsh software (which may need to be locally compiled)
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NTP time synch (maybe help with configuration)
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Internet connection
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Instruction
2. Provide computer that is set up and ready to plug in. This requires
that we build a setup package or arrange setup with provider:
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Buy 486 or better, with 300+ meg disk, cdrom, modem *
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Create minimal linux installation on floppy and cdrom.
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linux (how about x-wndows?)
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eggsh
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ppp, slip, other communication?
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NTP
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other possibles, e.g., netscape
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Configuration form, to get host information
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Arrange shipping of computer and REG/RNG
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Internet connection **
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Instructions, which will need to be extensive
* Yesterday, I discovered via www.PC-today, a company 10 miles from
Princeton that builds and sells refurbished computers via mail/UPS.
For example, the item that caught my eye: 486 DX/66, with 16meg ram and a
540 or 818 meg disk, cdrom, modem, and 15" SVGA monitor, for $299 -- no
operating system :-). I will visit, and discuss possibility of
installing our minimal linux and software package, for shipping to our
egghosts.
** For connections inside the US, one very simple possiblity, suggested
by Charles, is to long-distance dial directly to noosphere. As I recall
Greg's calculations in the spec document, this would cost on the order
of $1.50 per day to dialup 1/hour, at 10 cents per minute.
3. Let host provide computer or buy one locally. This requires the
same material as option 2, but with additional instruction.
4. Port eggsh for Windows, and use host's machine already in use.
This requires steely nerves, great courage, boundless determination,
and, yet, it may be sensible. In addition, this requires the package
from option 2, with greatly enhanced instruction module.
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