Perhaps you've seen a post on the last lecture of Randy Pausch, a CMU professor dying of cancer. I was just watching the 2nd part of his lecture on YouTube, all the while thinking, "Why is this guy so familiar?" Virtual Reality? I attended a VR conference in 95.
Around 5 minutes into the 2nd lecture is when he talks about his family's visit to Disneyland, and he says about the photos on his slide, "There I am in front of the castle, and there I am on a ride. For those of you into foreshadowing, the ride is Alice." So the ride is the Mad Tea Cup, inspired by Alice in Wonderland, but that doesn't really matter, because what I figure out in that instant is how and I know him, and why, and where: Alice.
I attended and talked with him at the Special Interest Group in Computer Science Education (SIGCSE) conference 2006 in Houston, and I recall how wonderfully vital he was then. The very idea that this man is dying while so young seems so absolutely awful and cruel and wrong. So it may seem strange for me to say that I in spite of that, I still recommend watching the videos of his last lecture. They are sad and poignant, but inspirational and uplifting, too. This isn't some dry CS lecture. This is a wonderful summary of the dreams of his life and he went about trying to achieve them.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Monday, September 10, 2007
Subiaco
This past weekend my wife and I traveled to Subiaco, Arkansas, home of an Abbey and Academy and four hundred and some-odd residents. There we joined some members of our church including a priest and his wife, and another couple from a nearby congregation. We spent the weekend in a guest dormitory at the abbey, eating our meals in a church dining room and saying the daily office with the resident monks of the abbey.
In between we read readings that our clergy handed out to us and then gathered together to discuss what we thought about them. One of the most interesting questions raised was "When is the Sabbath?" Not in the literal sense of which day of the week, mind you, though that did get talked about a good bit, if only because of the modern collision of Sunday and that the Sabbath to many. Instead, the focus was more on the qualitative nature of Sabbath - what are the characteristics of Sabbath time. So I had a great surprise today in learning that an acquaintance of mine has decided to start taking Friday off as her 'Sabbath' time and that, coincidently, she had also been to Subiaco, though many years ago.
I do think that the pace of modern life does push us into very narrow and carefully considered rest. I think that many, myself certainly included, feel guilty when we are not working. I also think that that technology can have a positive effect and can reduce stress in our lives, but I don't seem to be around many people who share this opinion. Rather, I hear people complain about email and blackberries and other devices. They seem to forget that, paraphrasing the NRA, blackberries don't send emails, people do, and that email is the natural extension to the hand-written letter and the telephone. I wonder where the line is with such people, and I want to ask, "Are you okay with the wheel? Is fire adding too much stress in your life?"
In between we read readings that our clergy handed out to us and then gathered together to discuss what we thought about them. One of the most interesting questions raised was "When is the Sabbath?" Not in the literal sense of which day of the week, mind you, though that did get talked about a good bit, if only because of the modern collision of Sunday and that the Sabbath to many. Instead, the focus was more on the qualitative nature of Sabbath - what are the characteristics of Sabbath time. So I had a great surprise today in learning that an acquaintance of mine has decided to start taking Friday off as her 'Sabbath' time and that, coincidently, she had also been to Subiaco, though many years ago.
I do think that the pace of modern life does push us into very narrow and carefully considered rest. I think that many, myself certainly included, feel guilty when we are not working. I also think that that technology can have a positive effect and can reduce stress in our lives, but I don't seem to be around many people who share this opinion. Rather, I hear people complain about email and blackberries and other devices. They seem to forget that, paraphrasing the NRA, blackberries don't send emails, people do, and that email is the natural extension to the hand-written letter and the telephone. I wonder where the line is with such people, and I want to ask, "Are you okay with the wheel? Is fire adding too much stress in your life?"
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