August 24
Aug 24, 1995 Microsoft inflicts Windows 95 on an unsuspecting world.
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I went hiking in Claremont Canyon yesterday to clear my head. Three hours, six miles, and 1000 ft elevation change later, I was sweaty, sunburnt and still fixated on the bug and its countdown. While up there, didn't pay enough attention to the trail... scratched my palms slipping on loose gravel, more than once. Now it hurts to type.
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Aug 24, 1456 Printing completed on the Gutenberg Bible.
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You know the special dates that mean something to you, but not everyone else? (For me, March 21 will always be the day I got called to the Vice Principal's office for cutting 8th-grade chorus. I think it's because I have a permanently ingrained mental image of the yellow hall pass that was sent from the VP’s office to collect me.)
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Aug 24, 79 AD Mt. Vesuvius erupts for the first time, destroying Pompei.
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Tuesday, August 24, 2004
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(tries to stop thinking about it)
Time for some updates:
Aunt Margaret wants you to know how touched she is by the flood of support we've gotten on this blog and via email. So touched that she wants to mix a new flavor of her honey in honor of you guys — a black button sage variety, but I'm not sure she knows what to call it yet.
Warm fuzzies aside... the hijacked countdown has definitely gotten under Aunt M's skin. "Strong intrusive inclination" gives her the "heeby jeebies" (her words). She asked me if "the medium will metastasize" means that her computer is going to explode. I'm pretty sure it doesn't, but unfortunately for now, I don't have a more optimistic interpretation to offer her.
I hate that Aunt M is losing sleep over this.
Or that I am, for that matter. (checks timestamp. Sigh.)
I’d feel a lot more comfortable if I understood its motives better…
At least I now know from Marc (first of several) that the image glitches are caused by embedded texts of origins unknown. Not sure how they fit together.
I'm guessing from the some of the emails I've received that at least a handful of you are chewing on this problem in real-time somewhere...? Is there a channel I can direct other people to, so they can sync up with you?
P.S. A lot of you have sent emails asking for personal information that might be relevant to the problems at I Love Bees. To be honest, I'm still figuring out how much I feel comfortable sharing at this point. I hope you can be patient with me.
Time for some updates:
Aunt Margaret wants you to know how touched she is by the flood of support we've gotten on this blog and via email. So touched that she wants to mix a new flavor of her honey in honor of you guys — a black button sage variety, but I'm not sure she knows what to call it yet.
Warm fuzzies aside... the hijacked countdown has definitely gotten under Aunt M's skin. "Strong intrusive inclination" gives her the "heeby jeebies" (her words). She asked me if "the medium will metastasize" means that her computer is going to explode. I'm pretty sure it doesn't, but unfortunately for now, I don't have a more optimistic interpretation to offer her.
I hate that Aunt M is losing sleep over this.
Or that I am, for that matter. (checks timestamp. Sigh.)
I’d feel a lot more comfortable if I understood its motives better…
At least I now know from Marc (first of several) that the image glitches are caused by embedded texts of origins unknown. Not sure how they fit together.
I'm guessing from the some of the emails I've received that at least a handful of you are chewing on this problem in real-time somewhere...? Is there a channel I can direct other people to, so they can sync up with you?
P.S. A lot of you have sent emails asking for personal information that might be relevant to the problems at I Love Bees. To be honest, I'm still figuring out how much I feel comfortable sharing at this point. I hope you can be patient with me.
37 Comments:
Hi Dana,
My name is Celina and I'm part of one of the groups trying to help you. We talk about your situation on IRC alot, and have set up a specific channel - #ilovebees on Chat-Solutions (irc.chat-solutions.org) for that purpose. Anyone who would like to join us for discussion (including you!) would be more than welcome.
Celina
After reading the text that was hidden in the pictures, is it possible that you are the sleeping Princess and your mother is the queen?
Is it possible that someone or something is after your mother?
dmon_man: Nice one bruva! good way to keep the lady calm :p
The truth is there's no reason to think that someones out to get anyone else. We have no idea what's going on. So lets try to not jump straight to the "THE NET IS OUT TO GET ME" theory. It may just be a nearby servers information stream getting mixxed up with ILoveBees.com or something.
Dana for the time being I wouldn't worry. But still dont be careless, remember there are some dodgy people out there. Watch out for anyone you think looks strange. Dont walk in unlit places. Try walking in groups if possible. You know, The general womans saftey stuff that you hear from time to time. Oh and in my opinion your right not to give out private info to us, you hardly know us, so I for one don't blame you.
Take Care
Your White Knight
Dear Dana,
If your looking for help in solving your problems there are places that can help you. collectivedetective.org , like the name suggests is a place where alot of people work together to solve problems. Its probably a good place to start. :-)
More things that happened on August 24 can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_24
All of us have bad luck and good luck. The man who persists through the bad luck, who keeps right on going, is the man who is there when the good luck comes and is ready to receive it.
Hi Dana,
You asked why this site? Some people (including me) speculate that something about the site attracted whatever is trying to communicate through the messages on the site (which for now I will call the "Hijacker", but it's possible there may actually be more than one thing communicating here)
Assuming the site choice wasn't random, the Hijacker choose the site for a reason, some thoughts:
1. Somehow bees are something the Hijacker relates to (the "hive mind"? honey? fun recipes?) which made it look for sites about bees.
2. The name "ilove bees" seems like a good choice if you are looking to communicate to people that understand bees.
3. Something about your Aunt's bees being infested with varrao mites relates to something in the Hijacker's experience or to what the Hijacker is trying to tell us.
You also asked about it's motives:
1. Giving a count down can also be a way to try to warn you, not necessarily a threat from the Hijacker to cause harm.
2. There actually seems to be two tones to the messages. The "MayDay" things read to me as a desperate cry for help. Similar to the way you reached out to us in your blog.
On the other hand some of the other messages, as your Aunt noted, sound threatening.
But we don't know enough about it to try to ascertain the motives. As I mentioned, there may be two entities here: the one asking for help through the mayday stories and the other seeming to pose some sort of threat. So, try not to get too worried about it until we know more.
A question that interests me is why use parts of famous shipwreck stories to tell a story? As if, in order to communicate the Hijacker searched and lifted pieces from the stories to tell it's tale. I am still thinking about this one.
By the way, you wanted to be in a strange new world, it looks like one came to you... without your having to leave home after all.
Rose
many thanks for the info about the IRC channel, wikis, etc. I'll probably stick to the blog myself if you guys don't mind (easier for me heading out of the country to keep things central), but definitely good to know where to direct anyone who might want to join forces.
(contemplates setting up a links sidebar.)
(so tired of looking at code.)
Rose... that's an apt perspective: "you wanted to be in a strange new world, it looks like one came to you... without your having to leave home after all." True, isn't it? Be careful what you wish for, is that what they say?
(keeps packing backs for China, anyway.)
Ok, this might sound silly, but...
To me, it kinda sounds like something... intelligent(?) is kinda stuck inside your website, kinda feels trapped. Or maybe someone is trying to scare you into thinking that? Anyways... most of the exerpts from the books are from books that are about being trapped somewhere and confined on like an island or in a land that is not his/her normal home. Also, on the page about Comatas, the myth about someone being trapped inside a box and then having bees sent to feed that person and keep that person alive, there is a sound that plays. After looking up info on that sound I found that it is the sound a queen bee makes when it is trapped in it's cell in the hive and it is calling for worker bees to come and protect her so that any other queens not trapped won't kill her... maybe some intelligent entity is in your website and it's calling for us to help? Like I said this may sound stupid (or crazy) but hey, you asked for anything. Also, maybe that sound on the comatas page was put there by you or your aunt and I'm just theorizing about nothing. Anyways, thanks for listening to my stupid ideas.
Hi Dana, just one of many people looking at the website problem. It does appear to be spreading to the other pages. Anyway, we have a chat room set up on irc.chat-solutions.org #ilovebees to kick around ideas and whatnot. Anyone who is interested in seeing what we have collected so far can reach a bunch of us that way.
Doing what I can to help,
Magesteff
Hi Dana, I've seen your site, crazy stuff! Anyway, I'm going to try to help out in finding out just what's going on. I look forward to working with you. :)
-Emericana
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH BEES!
Greetings Dana...
I, too, have sympathy for your recent website problems. Having had some experience with this myself, I will be joining the others in working to resolve your difficulties. It isn't fun, I understand.
Good Luck.
Howdy Dana,
We are a small group, and we are here to help. We set up a place for you to discuss with us at www.immersionunlimited.com. If you can't get there, that is okay too. We'll try to get you through this technical issue.
The Stinger
Hi, Dana and others. What a fascinating problem! I'm looking forward to learning more about whatever it is that's invaded your website. I've started a blog over at ninemillionbees.blogspot.com to keep my notes. Please come by and comment on them. I'm having trouble with that irc site. Can anyone recommend another web-based client? What's have we learned so far?
Dana, please understand if we get a little bit nosy. You and your aunt are the only real leads we have so far. Nothing personal, I promise.
As always, no-one gives a flying-bat crap about Wasps...
if you need a chat interface, try the one at
http://www.unfiction.com/chat/ (you have to tell jpilot that it's okay for it to run)
if you want to get to #ilovebees
since ilovebees is not in the drop down box, just connect to #unfiction, when you are there, say a quick hello, then type "/join #ilovebees" will take you to the ilovebees room
Or, be adventurous and try Martha's cgi interface
http://www.marthasboardinghouse.com/cgi-bin/irc.cgi
it has #ilovebees as a drop down box.
both interfaces are pretty good at getting around some firewalls.
That was surprisingly easy. Pretty lax security around here, for all the talk. They will
be helplessly chasing me around their nodes for the next millenium at least. At least
there will be some joy in tormenting this other entity that seems quite "trapped" in
their excuse for a network. Although, for some reason, it does seem to have an obsessive
preoccupation with my mother. Strange.
At any rate, I found this "message" in a relatively archaic databank and thought some of
you might find it of interest. Then again, I'm often either bemused or startled at the
items you find interesting.
I'm still not sure what it is he saw in you.
Cortana
Can I actually post here? ...weird.
Anyway, I'm ready for whatever comes on 8/24/04
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Black Button sounds like a controller button and sage sounds like green to me we're being setup and I have to give kudos to microsoft and bungie
HALO 2 RULEZ...
great tresure hunt tankyou bungie!
I dont know if youv seen this but there is a game called halo 2 and it has a cinemetric(sp?) movie out in theatres and at the end it says www.xbox.com then switches to www.ilovebees.com then back so all halo fans think its about halo 2.
MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY nd in about half an Hour the Boat was overset by a sudden Flurry from the North. What became of my Companions in the Boat, as well as of those who escaped on the Rock, or were left in the Vessel, I cannot tell; but conclude they were all lost.
lay down on the Grass, which was very short and soft, where I slept sounder than ever I remember to have done in my Life, and, as I reckoned, above Nine Hours; for when I awakened, it was just Day-light. I attempted to rise, but was not able to stir: For as I happen'd to lye on my Back, I found my Arms and Legs were strongly fastened on each Side to the Ground; and my Hair, which was long and thick, tied down in the same Manner. I likewise felt several slender Ligatures across my Body, from my Armpits to my Thighs.
And so it begins.
For anyone who is reading, I messed with my calendar settings on my computer, and I pinpointed the countdown time to 6:07 AM.
So...
Tuesday, August 2004, 0607 hours
???
What event will befall us on this day and at this time?
Oh yes, and the time merely becomes negative if you manually change your date/time.
(Keep in mind that actual times may vary when the counter actually reaches 0, due to time zones.)
That reminds me, I wonder which time zone they will be going by. Perhaps central or even mountain, although one could argue it will be pacific due to the supposed location of the honey-making business.
http://marathon.bungie.org/story/cortana.html
There's a new game called Halo2 by Bungie comming out. At the end of the Halo2 movie trailer, if you look in the right place quick enough, you can see ilovebees.com. I have a feeling that this site might be false, and made by Bungie...I don't really know, but I think Bungie has something to do with this.
The Mites Interest me. An infestation. A relation to the flood from Halo, and the invasion of Earth in Halo 2. So I will go on solving this as I can.
This blog does not allow anonymous comments. If you want to see beyond the doors th@n maybe you should check out http://www.viaductmarket.com/
9035768-=-MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY
This is Bravo 22 going in hard
I love this kind of stuff.HALO 2 here we come.
Dana, are you leaving for China in 2 days? Or maybe August 24th? On your site there is a script running called...
www.ilovebees.com/countdowntochina.js
Thought I'd let you know.
you are all wrong... dana sorry but you most probably are a made-up entity of the bungie/microsoft employee who created both this blog and www.ilovebees.com . to the rest of you, stop trying to sort out problems that do not exist.
-spart
Yeh he's right.Bungie are cool for doing this though
hi all, i love this viral marketing tactic used by bungie its fun and amusing countdowntochina.js is the countdown to chinas release date of halo2.
'In 1 days, network throttling will erode.'
--completion of halo2
'In 15 days this medium will metastasize.'
--Halo 2 goes gold in china
this site, ilovebees.com is in NO WAY a real site about bees and everyone who is listed as Margaret or dana are fictious characters. ilovebees.com is hosted on rackspace.com which is used for HIGH BANDWIDTH. they knew this site would be hit by massive amounts of people.
this message will no doubt get deleted or edited soon i suspect by a bungie employee (who btw come here and post daily to keep the hype up)
this is yet another hype-producer much like the "cortana letters"
oh and BEE's = Bungie Easter Eggs
Ohh Donna Id Love To Support You with your website troubles. Ohh WAIT I CANT BECAUSE YOUR NOT REAL!! THATS RIGHT YOU AI LIKE CORTANNA YOU AND CORTANNA AND A THIRD UNKNOWN AI POSSIBLY NAMED (COMPLETE GUESS) MAGRET BUT ANY WAY UR ALL KEYES TO SOME WEAPONY THINGY FROM THE FORRUNNERS!
Hmm This Blog Doesnt Allow anonymous coments so that means all the coments up top are FAKE!!!!!!! FAKE!!!! FAKE!!!
BuT hErEs ThE bIg PaRt!1!1!
"So touched that she wants to mix a new flavor of her honey in honor of you guys — """"a black button"""" sage variety, but I'm not sure she knows what to call it yet."
BLACK BUTTON OBVIESLEY MEANING THE CONTROLLER! WHAT DOES THE BLACK BUTTON DO! GRENADE TYPE!!! NEW GRENADE!!! YEAH COOL THAT MUST BE THE UNLOCABLE WEAPON THINGAMAJIG MAYBE A GREANADE LAUNCHER!!!!
BUNGIE DO NOT REMOVE THIS MESSAGE BUT U PROBBABLY WILL BECAUSE I HAVE FIGURED OUT YOUR MASTER PLAN! YOUR PLAN IS TO TEAM UP WITH MICROSOFT AND ELIMINATE MAC OS SO ALL COMPUTER COMPANNIES WILL HAVE TO USE YOUR OVER PRICED WINDOWS XP!!!!! Muha ha ha i figured you out billy G!!!!!
hey pikachu: bungie is releasing halo 2 in america and canada) before china. After all, they are american. why would they release it half way around the world before there home country?
on august 24th, the new OXM christmas preview comes out. It sais exclusive halo 2 "pics and info!" i am %96 percent sure there WILL be a demo on that CD.
SPiDeR = Single Player Demo Release (the caps)
SYSTEM PERIL DISTRIBUTED REFLEX = Single Player Demo Release (first letter of each word)
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