When one thinks of 2001 a lot of cultural references come to mind. It was the first official year of the new millennium. A new United States President assumed office. And then there's the unavoidable image of HAL 9000 from Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, the red eye glowing and speaking in that creepy monotonic voice: "I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that."