Wednesday, 13 November 2002
you can go home again
Well, I can, anyhow. So today I did. To Buffalo, for an hour, to see my father. He’s spent the past few months digitizing the thousands of photos, slides, and negatives cataloging our family’s life that have been piled in a cupboard for years. Over 3000 images captured so far.
It’s amazing the way a randomly chosen image can open a window into your own past. This time the fates were kind to me, and the image was one that brought back the best rather than the worst of times.
My father still lives in the same suburban house that we moved into when I was four years old. It still looks essentially the same today as it does in this ca. 1970 photo. That’s me in front of the fireplace; my mother and my sister to the side; our cat Tango on the ottoman. Looks idyllic, doesn’t it?
In a lot of ways, it really was. Sure, I can catalog my personal woes. But they pale in comparison to the privileges I enjoyed.
I grew up in a house infused with a sense of humor. (Click on the second photo, and then examine the larger image carefully. Note the viking spears pointed ominously at the image. The suppressed mirth in my mother’s almost-peaceful face.) It was a house filled with books, and ideas, and conversation, and caring. I can only hope that my kids will look back on their childhood with as much fondness.
I find that as I look around at my life, I have turned into my parents in more ways than I can count. I would have thought of that as a bad thing not that long ago. Not any more.
poptech spam?!?! feh!
<flame>
Pop!Tech is a truly civilized conference. Small crowds, smart people, fabulous presentations. (Not to mention beautiful setting and amazing food.)
That's what makes getting SPAM based on my attendance there so infuriating.
Hello Elizabeth,It was great seeing you at Poptech.
I am wondering, whether your organization has a need for software
development or hiring contract software engineers.
We specialize in custom software development in technologies including .NET
and J2EE; Systems Integration and providing software consultants.[...]
Have I piqued your interest? How about visiting our website at [blah, blah blah]...
A pox on this guy's house for abusing the participant list he was given. Sheesh, I didn't even meet him at the conference, and he sends me this garbage? Yeah, sure, my university regularly hires software engineers, rather than creating them. He didn't even bother to check what my "organization" was!
And how is it possible for anyone to attend this conference and still be boneheaded enough to do this? (He was in fact a conference attendee...I checked my list.)
I'm torn between wanting to put his name here to give this vilification the 'personal touch', and not wanting to give him one frigging iota of publicity. To mention him, alas, is to help his Google ranking.
But somebody send Ashok a copy of the Cluetrain Manifesto, please. If there was ever someone who needed a seat on the train...
</flame>
