DarrenByrne.com

Apparently CERN, the organisation that are credited with ‘inventing’ the Interweb, have developed the next stage in Web evolution which can reach speeds in excess of 10,000 times faster than current broadband speeds. Hundreds of thousands of gamers will be able to interact simultaneously and seamlessly in vivid online environments, far greater than we can today. This all sounds wonderful…doesn’t it?

Maybe it’s just my paranoia mixed with a far too active movie watching life, but this sounds like the start of Skynet:

David Britton, professor of physics at Glasgow University and a leading figure in the grid project, believes grid technologies could “revolutionise” society. “With this kind of computing power, future generations will have the ability to collaborate and communicate in ways older people like me cannot even imagine,” he said.

The power of the grid will become apparent this summer after what scientists at Cern have termed their “red button” day – the switching-on of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the new particle accelerator built to probe the origin of the universe. The grid will be activated at the same time to capture the data it generates.

Surely we should stop Skynet now before the Terminators come back to get us? Where’s Sarah Connor? Protect her baby! Save us all! Judgement Day is here!

Ahem, well, better to be safe than sorry!

Following on from my self-pity post, I have had a mentally messed up weekend, which I have only emerged from today.

I suspect (as I have no evidence other than how I felt), that my drink was spiked or otherwise tampered with a few nights ago. I had had a few drinks and I know that that could explain some of what happened to me, but to collapse on a street corner, to break down in tears on the phone for no apparent reason, to feel ‘high’ and have the shakes and heart palpitations – I don’t see how I can blame that on a few drinks. It was something I have never experienced before and have no interest in going through again.

Lottie, as you may know, has been in the midst of exams for the past few weeks, so to have me ringing her in bits, desperate for help, cannot be at all helpful. I am so guilty for that, I sincerely am. But that guilt does not compare with the fear that I felt on Saturday, when looking back over what could have happened, what might have been. I have heard many horror stories, far worse than anything I went through, and that has played over my mind all weekend. I just don’t understand why anyone would put anything in my drink. It’s so fucked up. It was suggested today that someone may have been attempting to rob me. Maybe, but no one tried to take anything from me and I was in no fit state to defend myself if anyone had tried.

So, while I don’t see myself having a night out in a bar anytime soon (or at least not without surrounding myself with people I trust), I will certainly be very careful about keeping a close eye on my drink. And I would urge anyone who reads this to be equally vigilant.

Has anyone else experienced this? Have you heard of anyone who went through this…or worse? It’s truly horrible to feel that helpless.