From: David Grosof

From: David Grosof To: [email protected] Subject: Your Special Day (complete message) Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2017 06:18:20 +0000 My email softare prematurely ejaeulitted-emitted a message due to some mysterious hotkey combination rest is below Dear Jeffrey, Congratulations on another spin around the sun. I would like to offer you a birthday present: my best efforts for a few hours on something where I might be able to contribute either to making something good happen for you or help you prevent the bad. We haven't talked much at all for quite some time, so I'm not sure of the nature of your current interests but here are some of mine, where I feel I either have some special capability or can get access to those who have such. * open science -- open access publishing, data publishing, and open culture institutions considered as a network with largely consistent and mutually reinforcing values: Public Library of Science (PLoS), Wikipedia, Internet Archive, Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Creative Commons, along with allied US, UK, European governmental and NGO funding sources and other institutions. * early-stage life science-based ventures, especially those with one or more of these technologies: optics, wearable-sensors, brain-computer interface, behavioral engineering that goes beyond robo-noodging. I am not up to speed on synthetic bio and CRISPR, but I have a good friend who is. * cybersecurity for you and your life. I have carefully monitored the web for articles about you and I have reason to think that those will persist indefinitely. I would be remiss as your friend if I did not encourage you to be as diligent and smart as possible in using tools like Signal, two-factor/multi-factor authentication, taking webmail archives off the web onto your own secure privately maintained archive or deleted (unlike Podesta), and other measures. * publicity for your cool-ass creative and important philanthropy in support of really good and adventuresome, high-risk basic science research. Most obvious benefit: it would be nice for people to know that in the US VI you hung out with the brightest people around and supported creative work on the most difficult theoretical challenges in physics The gift of the submarine trip to you know who is a beautiful thing people should know about, if I understand correctly what you made happen. I've not been impressed at all with what I've seen of engineered good publicity. I offer my time and energy as you wish to address your wants and needs in that department. * entertaining storytelling and "nerd culture" talks and performances -- I'm one of the Bay Area's mavens about a whole range of spoken word events. I have performed, I have volunteered as recording engineer, I have little recurring schtick roles in some shows, it's like I'm channeling some mix of my dad as raconteur and Jean Shepherd (you must have heard him on WOR when you were growing up, right?). I am very aware that the historical pattern with you on phone calls is that you have been brief, often impatient, and have called quite out of the blue, catching me unprepared, waking me up, or under the weather, as often as not.. That does not work well for me. I super-enjoyed talking with you the evening I was on the island and a few times in your NYC house, and I'd love to talk with you a bit more without feeling that I was racing a kitchen timer. I wish you good health and good luck and many great acts of kindness to and from you in the coming year! Your old friend, David EFTA00664525 David Grosof * EFTA00664526