Somebody Gets Paid

Defects are not free.  Somebody makes them, and gets paid for making them.

-- William Edwards Deming (1900 - 1993), American statistician, college professor, author, lecturer, and consultant, Out Of The Crisis (1982) p. 11

Inconvenience

So in all human affairs one notices, if one examines them closely, that it is impossible to remove one inconvenience without another emerging.

-- Niccolo Machiavelli (1469 - 1527), Italian political philosopher, historian, musician, poet, and playwright, Discourses on Livy (1517) Book 1, Ch. 6 

Legacy Code

"Legacy code" often differs from its suggested alternative by actually working and scaling.

-- Bjarne Stroustrup (30 December 1950 -), computer scientist and creator of the C++ programming language, Bjarne Stroustrup's FAQ: (2007 - present) What is "legacy code"?

Memory Lane

Today I had the pleasure and honor of spending a couple of hours over lunch at Papa Del's with some old PLATO folks.  I hope it sparks warm memories when I name drop Josh Paley, Steve Peltz, Susan Wrightson, G. David Frye, Ray Thomsen, Quentin Barnes, and James Quisenberry. 

There was reminiscing, with tales of Dr Bitzer and CERL PLATO.  And there was catching up with past lives, current activities, and future plans.  Many familiar names were mentioned.  A get-together like we had today reminds me of just how many smart people were drawn to PLATO.  It's an amazing community.

RIP Dr Don Bitzer

I just learned an hour ago that yesterday [10 December 2024], Don Bitzer, creator of the PLATO system, and friend to us all, passed away at age 90 in North Carolina.

I'm at a loss for words at the moment and can't think of much to say that I didn't say in my book, which, in hindsight, may kinda sorta be the closest attempt at a biography of Don, but I will say that I never ever met a more generous, supportive, enthusiastic person in the world.  He and his wife Maryann, who passed away in 2022, were incredibly generous.

He was an inspiration to us all, and to the world, which he made a better place.

-- Brian Dear, author of "The Friendly Orange Glow", announcing the passing of Dr Donald L Bitzer

[Meta - I got my start in computing through the good graces of Dr Bitzer in March 1974, and it led to my lifelong career.  And of course "trvth" itself originated on the University of Illinois PLATO system in notesfile =pad in February 1981, and has always been maintained on some PLATO system, somewhere.  Currently these posts are hosted in notesfile =pad on the "cyber1" CYBIS system (more info at cyber1.org).]

AI Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving upon us, it's a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the many blessings in our lives.  I'm truly grateful for the countless small and big moments that have shaped me into who I am today.  From the love and support of my family and friends to the simple joys of a warm meal and a cozy night in, I'm filled with gratitude.

I'm also thankful for the opportunity to connect with others, learn new things, and make a positive impact on the world.  May this Thanksgiving be a time of peace, love, and reflection for all.

Happy Thanksgiving!

-- Google AI Gemini (since this is the modern world), when prompted with "Give me 20 to 30 words of gratitude appropriate to Thanksgiving", and then asked to make its original response longer (27 November 2024)