AgPerson

Last September my grandfather Stanley Dorn died, and I reflected on his life and that of my grandmother, Louise Dorn. I said then:

We never talked about beliefs, I really don’t know if he thought he’d end up somewhere else when he left us, perhaps reunited, or if he assumed, like I do, that death really the last step. I’d like to think that he found some peace in the end, that he felt he was going to a better place. And for all I know, maybe he has. Regardless, he made a choice in his life and I don’t blame him for it, I can only blame myself, at least a bit, as I look back and think of some of the missed opportunities.

A wise commenter gave comfort on that day, responding in part:

I look through the windshield of life and not the rear view mirror. I do believe we find peace at the end….wherever that may be.

But this is not a post about endings, nor is it a post about beginnings; this is a post about continuances.

In a few hours my family and I are going to a Bat Mitzvah ceremony of a cousin who was only a year old when I myself was a Bar Mitzvah. When was that — twelve years ago this month? So many Septembers ago. I felt so old, it felt sort of Important, an Occasion, you know? And perhaps it was. Now time has passed, years have passed, and the thirteen year old child (young man?) that I was has faded into the distance, although he is still me, I am still him, in a way, in the now.

I look through the windshield of life — so many of us do. But like any conscientious driver, it is important to look into the rearview mirror as well. To glance there frequently, but not to dwell. To see the past in its multifaceted glory, and then to look again towards the future, in all of its wonder.

Today I stumbled upon an email from an old friend, sent on the occasion of another (also perhaps momentous?) occasion: high school graduation. She told me that she expected me to achieve great things, because that is the kind of person I am.

Now greatness can be defined many ways. But still, it is a heavy burden. I look through the windshield of life, at the road ahead, and I see bumps and dust storms and lots of long traffic lights. Do I see greatness out there, in the vast expanse? Hard to tell. But it is funny that once again I find myself, someone who is unabashedly non-religious, reflecting on such things just as the Jewish High Holy days approach: Rosh Hashanah, the head of the year, filled with so much potential, and Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, filled with so much regret.

Google has officially acknowledged Google Chrome, a new open-source web browser that was accidentally leaked yesterday. Chrome, which incorporates Google’s Gears platform, is entering an already-crowded browser space, but with a unique philosophy. Google has built Chrome to behave like each browser window is an independent application — with its own computer memory and processor allocation, which keeps the content of each window separate and sandboxed from the rest, improving stability and security.

It seems pretty clear that, in addition to the straightforward goal of improving the web browsing experience and promoting their Gears platform, Google’s primary goal is to release a browser that is a fully-functional platform, decoupled from the underlying operating system, be it Windows, Mac, Linux, or something else entirely. It has been obvious for quite some time that Google believes that the future is in web-based applications, such as Gmail and Google Calendar, that live in the center of the network, rather than the traditional “edge” applications that live on our computers. Google (and others) call this “cloud computing” in reference to the idea that software code and data is always available from everywhere that a user can access the Internet. Because powerful “cloud” applications require powerful and standardized web browsers in which to run, it is in Google’s interest to improve the browser and expand it, with the ultimate goal of making the desktop operating system obsolete.

I personally disagree with this philosophy, believing that ubiquitous computing is coming and will be very individually-focused, but that is an argument for another day. For today, we can rehash the same old arguments about whether Google is a force for “good” or “evil,” about whether they can unseat Microsoft, etc. The rumor is that Chrome will be officially released tomorrow, and then we can see if the fuss is justified. Of course if Chrome comes out and it is only compatible with Windows, that will be a major strike against Google’s purported goals.

Every time I read Dune, I become hyper-conscious of the water waste all around me, of the beautiful life dripping, roaring, splashing, torrenting down the drain everywhere I look, wasted and ignored, never recognized for its miraculousness.

Now I’m reading The Dispossessed, and I find I can’t finish my dinner. So much for one person, such extravagance! And my possessions! The massive ego that possesses me to decide that I deserve to squander so many resources to travel alone in a hulking multi-ton vehicle that spews out noxious fumes and burns through precious fuel at a prodigious rate, just to get to a massive distribution center where muffins by the dozen and socks by the package and computers and refrigerators and power tools are all mine for the taking just by plunking down a plastic card.

And then after a while I come back to the real world, and I take another bite of my sandwich.

I was thinking today about how much benefit I get from the New York Times, my favorite newspaper. I just got another one of those NPR renewal letters in the mail, and I figured I might as well give to the Times while I’m at it. Then I remembered that the New York Times Co. is a for-profit corporation, and they don’t do membership drives. The only way to give ’em money seems to be to subscribe, but I have no interest in the dead tree version of their product.

Reasons I like working at home:

1. Lots of natural light
2. I can play music out loud instead of wearing headphones
3. The cat keeps me company
4. Really nice chair
5. I can go to work in my pajamas
6. I can make fun lunches in the kitchen
7. If I go for a run or bike ride at lunch time, I can just hop in the shower afterwards

Reasons I like working in the office:

1. The people are nice

I could fulfill all my requisite face-to-face interactions and meetings in one day per week in the office, but in my new position I suspect the number and length of meetings with continue to rise. Which is probably just another argument for staying home…