Happy Birthday To Us!
Photo credit:
Somehow, this blog's tenth birthday snuck up on us—and yes, this blog really is ten years old. In Internet years, that makes it what, 70? Which, I guess answers the question as to why events sneak up on us, and we can just chalk it all up to incipient senility.
I could say lots of things about the last decade: where we started, where we've traveled, or where we are now. Or about how this blog has evolved into something other than my initial expectations. Or about how blogs themselves have changed overall. Or about the number of wonderful people we've met due to having blogging in common.
But the one thing I find I must say is, whether you've been reading this blog for one month, one year, or the entire decade: thank you for reading this.
And now, back into my hole I go…Sublime objects of desire
Today was Aston Martin day here in Healdsburg. First, I saw a car that I'd seen before in passing, but not close up: a beautifully restored silver DB5 (the Connery Bond car, which was made between 1963-1965). Close up, it was simply gorgeous. I'm no expert in car restorations, so I don't really know what to look for, but this car was sweet.
After that, I happened to park next to a rare 1973-1978 V8 Series 3. The Series 3 was black and looked like it needed some work; the paint was dull and it was kind of dirty.
It's interesting to learn just how few of these cars were made; the DB5 is a filmic icon, but according to Wikipedia, only 1,021 of them were built, and the original one used in Goldfinger, has a sad history:
The first DB5 prototype used in Goldfinger with the chassis number DP/216/1 was later stripped of its weaponry and gadgetry by Aston Martin and then resold. It was then retrofitted by subsequent owners with nonoriginal weaponry. The Chassis DP/216/1 DB5 was stolen in 1997 from its last owner in Florida and is currently still missing.
There's an interesting article about the DB5's used in the movies, as well as details about the star car's theft and the insurance wrangling, here.
These are amazing cars, and it's nice to see them being used on the street, rather than being garaged.
This weekend: MCE (Be there!)
Are you in Northern California? Looking for something to do this Saturday?
If so, come and join us at the Mac Computer Expo in Petaluma, put on by NCMUG. It's the best (not-so-)little Mac show since the good ol' days of MacFair LA.
Want to know more? Here's the speaker list and schedule.
Free admission and free parking!
And please: stop us and say Hi!
Snow Leopard's on its way
I know that, oddly enough, there are people who get their tech news from this site. If that's you, here's your heads-up that Mac OS X 10.6, aka Snow Leopard, will be out on Friday. Want to get a copy ASAP? Here's some Amazon links for you: Mac OS X version 10.6 Snow Leopard and Mac OS X version 10.6 Snow Leopard - 5 seat family pack.
And on the off-chance you didn't know this, either: it's Intel-only, so if you have an older PowerPC Mac, you're out of luck. Pffft.
I miss you, Mom.
Today is the twentieth anniversary of my mother's death.
I can't help but think of all the things she missed in my life. The end of my first marriage. The second marriage that would have brought her a new daughter-in-law and a grandson.
When she died, I had barely begun my career. I was in the middle of writing my first feature story for Macworld, which ended up being the cover story early in 1990. Later that year, I was named a Contributing Editor for the magazine.
She missed my first book, which wasn't published until five years later. Now I'm closing in on my fortieth book. She would have been proud. We dedicated our JavaScript book to her and to Dori's father, also gone now.
We had our differences in the years leading up to her death; I was born with a disability, so we were especially close when I was a child. But I think that she found it difficult to make the transition when I grew up, and I don't feel that she ever really accepted me as an adult. I regret that we were not able to bridge that gap before she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. And then it was simply too late; time began to move too quickly. It was only six weeks from that diagnosis to the end.
Rather than sketching my remembrance of hospitals and pain, I'd like to share a picture of her that her sister, our beloved Auntie Theresa, gave us a few years ago. It shows a young girl of 8 or 9, smiling into the camera, a girl who had her whole life ahead of her. She didn't know what the future would hold, but I know her story. All those possibilities led to her long and happy marriage to my father, Joe Negrino, and to her legacy of her four children: my sister Marie, my late sister Pattie, my brother Robert, and me.
This was Dorothy, who became Dorothy Negrino, who became my mother.
I love you, Mom. I remember you.
The health care reform lies begin; and are debunked
As Congress goes into recess, the prospects for health care reform look decent. That has spurred the opponents of reform -- who apparently just love the current system -- to use every means at their disposal to fight it. That includes thuggish behavior at Senator's and Representative's town halls (there's even a manual of how to behave badly being distributed by an insurance lobbyist).
The tactics also include a long chain email that purports to go through many portions of the House reform bill, and tells you what is in the bill, with scary detail of what a hellish thing reform will be.
Almost everything in the email is a lie.
If and when you get a copy of the email (or its inevitable mutations) from a well-meaning relative, colleague, or friend, be prepared with the facts, and be ready to send them to the debunking analyses below. In fact, I'll just give you something you can copy and paste into a reply:
Hi,
It turns out that most of the "facts" in this email about the health care reform bill in the Congress just aren't true, and the source of the email is a vociferous right-wing opponent of health care reform.
Politifact did their fact-checking thing on the email, and rated many of its falsehoods in their "Pants on Fire!" category, the most egregious category. See their analysis here.
Shorter link for the above: http://bit.ly/ABtWJ
There is an even more detailed debunking by a health policy expert, writing in the Huffington Post. You can find that here.
Shorter link for the above: http://bit.ly/Ud1iN
I hope this clears things up. It's obvious that America can't go on with the current broken health care system; insurance companies have too much control over our people's health care, and are driven by what will make them the most profit, not by what will provide the best care for us. Most of us, even if we have insurance, are just one serious illness away from medical bankruptcy. If you do get sick and lose your job, you may never be able to get affordable health insurance ever again. And too many people aren't covered at all. That's just not right.
There's plenty of room for people to disagree on what should be in health care reform, but poisoning honest debate with lies isn't the way.
Best,
That should do it. Copy it, sign it, and send it.
You're welcome.
Women "in Tech"
A quick quiz for those of you who attend tech conferences. You're organizing a "Women in Tech" panel, and you have the following panelists:
Which of the below do you add as the final member of your panel?
- An expert in social networks
- An academic who has studied the declining numbers of women in tech
- The head of a non-profit that supports women in tech
- A guy who tried to hire a woman, but wasn't able to find one
- A designer who works with technical people
- A consultant who uses words like "synergy," "paradigm," and "liase"
- Other
Put your answer in the comments, please.
Still alive....
tap… tap… This thing still on…?
There's a variety of reasons why I haven't blogged in ages, and those who know me well should be able to figure out the main reason(s). But it's also partly because I've been dreading writing the above post, which I've decided to separate out so as to not confuse things.
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