Minoru Yamasaki & Associates,
design architects
Emery Roth & Sons, architects
In honor of those we have already lost and in hope of those we will save.

Though the phone lines (both land and cellular) have been spotty since yesterday morning, the internet has been quite reliable. To those who have tried and been unable to reach us... Thank you so much for your concern and prayers. Please know that Patty & I are okay.

Below are some notes from emails I wrote over the last 24 hours...

September 11, 2001
This is indeed a day of disbelief. How ironic and sick that the date is 9/11.

The twin towers were only a mile and a half south of our apartment. Fortunately, I was late leaving the house today and saw the second plane hit tower 2 before I headed up to my office in Times Square.

A friend called Patty to ask if we were okay. As we turned on the TV to see what was going on, I saw what I thought was the computer simulation of a plane going into the World Trade Center. It was not a simulation, rather a the second 747 hitting the second tower. As I tried to contact my family, I found that both the land and cellular lines were inoperable. Fortunately, the internet has been reliable and our only form of communication for most of the day.

Around 10:30 am, I went out to buy water and to take a picture of the burning buildings. As I stood among the NYU students Washington Square Park (5th Ave and 3rd Street) I heard a huge groan. I lowered my lens and looked up to watch as the second tower collapsed. The gazers keeled over in disbelief and horror.

This afternoon, Patty and I went to give blood, but the blood centers were over capacity. It's nice to see the positive and calm spirit of New Yorkers.

You can see all of the smoke from our apartment and feel the dust on your skin and clothes when you go outside. The sky is as thick and black with ash as when Mt. St. Helen's volcano erupted in the 1980's. Even at midnight, the parade of police cars, fire engines, ambulances, and dump trucks continue to rush down Broadway. The streets are over wise quiet and empty as they have "closed" the city below 14th Street (we're on 7th).

My parents are okay. The plane went down about 70 miles away from their home in Pittsburgh. Fortunately, it was in the middle of open fields and not at another target in D.C. as it was intended.

A friend of ours that lives in Brooklyn is stuck in the city and staying with us tonight. The phone lines have been out most of the day, but fortunately email has been up.

I am very grateful to have Mayor Guiliani at the helm of the city today. He is a true leader and holding this town together during the worst event of our lives.

Below are some photos that one of my office mates, Jonathan Corum, took from his apartment 15 blocks south on Canal Street: 13 Days - The World Trade Center

September 12, 2001
I was sad to learn this morning that Danny Lewin, Chief Technology Officer of Akamai, was on American Airlines Flight 11, the first plane to strike the Trade Center. Danny had founded Akamai in September 1998. Though I did not know him well, I had a few meetings with him in the Spring of 1999. He was a good guy and smart. He was not out to get rich on the internet with some hyped-up business plan. Rather, he and a few classmates had developed some algorithms at MIT to solve network-theory problems. It just so happened that his mathematics would become part of the foundation of the Internet.

Akamai was the productization of Danny's idea. Akamai accelerates delivery of Internet content by distributing it across geographically disperse servers. By doing so, it allows sites to meet 20-1000 times the traffic demand. When I was at CBS, our servers would melt every time there was a huge news store. We, like many other news orgizations and high-profile sites, selected Akamai to help get us through. Unlike the infrastructure crashes during the Ken Star reports and impeachment hearings of 1999 (news events that pales in magnitude of the WTC bombing), the Internet was remarkably stable this week... thanks to Danny's vision. Ironically, he has not around to see it happen. Danny was 31.

September 13, 2001
I'm glad to see good reporting. As Dan Rather used to preach: "Accuracy and integrity." Having gone to the hospital to donate blood on Tuesday when they were over saturated and having received panic calls from my parents in Pittsburgh and grandparents in St. Louis over sensationalistic coverage of a bomb threat, I can appreciate good reporting. Emotions are so strong and sensitive these days. Now, more than ever, it is the media's job to be calm and easy on the trigger. It is better to wait for confirmation than to throw millions into chaos, hysteria, and panic.

Last week, especially living south of 14th street, was incredibly depressing and scarry. No cabs, no cars, not many people. Only emergency, construction, and refrigeration vehicles. I had thought it strange that the workers would want so much milk, but the dairy trucks had another purpose. The air smelled like an electrical fire and West Broadway looked like a war zone. It will take some time to get over this.

Thanks again for your mail. Let your family know that we are okay and please continue to pray for the people of New York.

Here Is New York [WTC Photo Exhibtion]

October 25, 2001
Like most people who grew up in the '80s listening to the Police, I have always wanted to see Sting live in concert. As a professional who's made their living off of implementing technology solutions, (I'll admit that) I've always wanted to see Bill Gates in person. Today, I got to do both.

Today Microsoft launched Windows XP, the latest generation in Windows promising tighter security, faster performance, and new .NET capabilities. As part of the festivities, the software giant decided put on a WebCast and put on an hour long concert featuring Sting.

Though security was tight, no bags, walkmans, etc prergistered. Once got through the frisking, we were greeted with a Pentium 4 kiosk displaying the new features digital (music) mixers and imaging. The next booth was even better, boxes of free Krispy Kream Donuts! Managed to get great spot on the grass dead center. Less competative then the usual HBO Summer Movies in the Park series. Concert was fantastic. With such a repertoire.

Englishman in New York noted: "Stand Tall and keep doing what you're doing. I love being a New Yorker. Greatest city in the world in the greatest country. I am the flagpole of your nation."

Though I looked around at one point for sharpshooters in the surrounding buildings and got nervous at one point when I saw police movement, I absolutely enjoyed. We needed it. As Sting lauded, New York is indeed the greatest city in the world!

On the way out, we were offered a free bag lunch con chocolate chip cookie to take back to work. Just wanted to say thank you to Bill, Sting, Rudy, Microsoft, and folks at Dick Clarke Productions for pulling together such a wonderful afternoon.