Friday, June 25, 2004

Via David Weinberger's site JoHo the Blog!  I found this interesting article on the personal site of Hanan Cohen. "Come back with me to 1999, in the height of the dot.com boom, when we thought that everything on the internet was possible, when optimism reigned. On this year, in order to demonstrate the strength of his software, Frontier, Dave Winer created a website called MailToTheFuture.com." Going back to my post of the other day where I talked about our trip to Prague, before we left I used Dave's MailToTheFuture tool to set up an email for my buddies back at work.  I timed it such that Cindy and I would be in Prague drinking a cold Pilsner and my email gloating about that fact would be sent to my coworkers back in the office.  They really seemed to enjoy it :)  Dave comes up with some of the coolest weird stuff. "We think that we will live forever. We think that the files we have stored on machines powered by electricity will also live forever. Our files have no other purpose than to be online. We think that if our files are not available to the web, they are dead. In a way, thinking about the death of our files is like thinking about our own death. " I think it is true not only of people on the net but also of people in everyday life.  I see it on my drive to and from work each day.  People drive as if they will live forever.  During the days and weeks immediately following Cindy's death I was frequently struck at how strange it was that everyone around me could go on living life as if they would live forever now that I knew that life is just a fleeting thing that can go away in an instant.  I wanted to run up to people and shout at them "DON'T YOU REALIZE THAT YOU COULD BE GONE IN AN INSTANT!?!?!?!".  I wanted to stop them in their cars and scream "HOW CAN YOU DRIVE LIKE THAT WHEN A SIMPLE MISTAKE COULD TAKE THE LIFE OF A WIFE AND MOTHER!?!?!?" I always realized the fragile nature of the data on the Internet.  I started playing on the Web back when Mosaic was still way cool and Netscape was still brand new.  I created basic HTML using the text editor from the Cobol compiler we were using at the time.  I saw many a site appear one day only to be gone the next.  I knew that the free sites I set up around the web would disappear some day.  Here's a post I made back in those days that hasn't disappeared yet.  It was about the birth of my first daughter as it related to a song that was being discussed.  Ironically I played that same song at my wife's Gathering after she died. However I didn't really realize the fragile nature of life, and the effects that can have on people.  When the girls were babies I had a sense that they were fragile and could leave us at any moment.  Back then I would do that thing that all parents must do, you wake up in the middle of the night and wonder if they are ok.  You sit in bed and can't get back to sleep.  Finally you have to get up and go in the nursery and make sure they are still breathing, that everything is ok.  But after we had our second child you realize that they don't break that easily and that they are resilient and can fall down and get back up again.  It wasn't until Cindy died that I truly understood the fragile nature of life, and the impact of losing that life. So for me losing a website isn't a big deal.  Losing scans of old photographs that might not be replaceable isn't life altering.  Losing important thoughts and feelings translated into words on a screen won't change the existence of those thoughts and feelings in my mind or the minds of those who may have read them. 12:26:51 PM

And speaking of digital cameras, I really like some the new retro styled cameras that are coming out.  The first 'real' camera I bought was the Minolta SRT-201.  I have several old Minoltas now, including an old Hi-Matic rangefinder.  I wish Minolta would come out with a digital body that would accept all those old Rokkor lenses I've got.  I think it would be fun to take pictures like we did in the old days but in digital format. 10:04:07 AM

We head off to the beach for vacation this weekend. We have always enjoyed spending time at the beach. I don't get to spend much time at the beach, which is something Chelsey is helping me change. I'm looking forward to some beautiful sunsets, relaxing in the sun, and maybe a beverage or two :) For me vacation officially starts after work today, even though I will be packing, shopping, and laundering so we can be ready to go tomorrow. 9:45:02 AM

I like to take pictures.  I my younger days I had a darkroom and did my own developing and printing.  My friend Rob and I would take the train into the city where we would wander the streets to take pictures, then come home and develop our film to see what we got.  I have fond memories of those darkrooms, with the smell of photo chemicals, anxiously hanging up our freshly developed film to dry. Taking pictures is so much easier these days.  No more film, no more smelly chemicals.  But lots more images, and wonderful new ways to present them. I've found a few photo blogs that I enjoy.  bighappfunhouse is the home for "Accidental art. Found Photographs".  It reminds me of that old radio station that played all sets of music that had themes.  Each post is a collection of old photographs that share some common theme.  Great stuff. The photography site that humbles and inspires me is Graham Jeffery's Sensitive Light.  I look at his photographs and am so amazed at the quality of his images that I want to give up trying to ever reach that level of skill.  At the same time I am inspired to go out and try to capture some of the emotion that he is able to present in his images. 9:39:07 AM

© Copyright 2006 Rod Kratochwill.