When Knitting Was a Manly Art

(sipping a nice locally brewed beer, connected to a blazingly fast broadband connection, enjoying a quiet Thursday afternoon)

Everyone needs a bit of Feel Good now and then. These are probably old news to a lot of folks, but they made me feel good and I thought I’d share.

Randy Pausch was a professor of computer science, human-computer interaction and design at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). He was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer in 2006 and was told in August 2007 to expect a remaining three to six months of good health. Randy delivered his “Last Lecture,” titled “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams,” at CMU on September 18, 2007. This may seem to be leading up to something just the opposite of Feel Good, but the lecture had such a positive impact on so many people (including myself) that it deserves a much broader notice. The lecture led to a book (which I have on order) and much more attention to Randy and his disease. On July 25, 2008, Randy Pausch died from pancreatic cancer at his family’s home in Chesapeake, Virginia, having moved there so that his wife and children would be near family after his death.

The Last Lecture

A bit more goofy are these videos I ran across. Matt Harding travels the world. Matt dances funny. Kids love Matt dancing funny. Just watch. It makes you feel good.

Where the Hell is Matt - 2005
Where the Hell is Matt - 2006
Where the Hell is Matt - 2008

Warning
I’m *way* behind with blog software. I’m running 2.1.x and the latest is 2.6.x. I’m going to upgrade in the next week and *hopefully* I’ll cover all possible failures, but if you come visiting and things don’t look right, take a deep breath and come back in a day or two…

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Eileen received a copy of this, forwarded from a friend (click on the picture for a more readable version). I’m a skeptical old fart and headed over to snopes.com to see if Michael or Barbara had anything to say about it.

They do, but whether it’s for real is yet to be determined. Still, Eileen had a good laugh and I’m sure you all will appreciate it also…

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I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately and recently added a sidebar entry for the books I’m working on. The author of the plugin has an entry today on a book meme that’s working it’s way through the blogosphere.

Take the nearest book to you, turn to page 123, find the fifth sentence and quote the next three.

Great and Minor Moments in Oregon History

Even the steamers weren't safe. Captain Robert Rooks recalled docking in Portland with the British steamer Crusader in 1903 and being appalled at the activities of "Portland's renowned boardinghouse runners" operating at such a late date. Docked near his ship were two others, one French, one British.

and I really have to finish the article.

Both had lost their crews to silver-tongued runners, who lured sailors off ship with sweet talk and bribes and promises of pleasure in the wicked North End. The captains ordered new crews from the North End crimps.

"The next day," recounted Rooks to an Oregonian interviewer in 1938, "the French ship was delivered a crew of one-half English sailors and one-half farmers, and a day later the British ship received a crew of one-half French seamen and one-half farmers."

Rooks was lucky. Crimps captured only three members of his crew. The captain was more than happy to leave Portland's slimy waterfront and its vile body-snatching practitioners, but admitted, "We went out with three extra farmers."

This book is a fun read. The good and the bad of Oregon history.

Technorati Tags: Books

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