Hi there, I'm . . .

This is the introduce yourself discussion thread!

-- -- > [Macro error: Can't evaluate the expression because the name "whoAmI" hasn't been defined.]
<-- --
If you see your name here, and a text entry box below, you're already a member of this site! Glad you're here!!

If you do not see your name or a text entry box way down at the bottom, then you're not a member (yet!) Becoming a member is very easy! Click to Join Now. All you need to do is enter your email address and a password, and this site will give you a *very harmless* cookie, so that when you come by here again, you'll be identified as a member and a little box appear below! :D

Then you can type something in there. I'd love it if you'd post a lil' something about yourself.

Susan : )

P.S. The most recent responses are posted higher; earlier ones are lower. My introduction is waaaay at the bottom of the list of responses.

Comments

[Susan Kitchens]

My name is Susan Kitchens, and I got into this manila thang as a result of reading DaveNets from back in the time that the whole Apple Turnover took place a coupla years ago (uh, that was when Gil Amelio was ousted).

The links from Scripting News kept me coming back, and so I followed the news about Frontier until this Manila implementation.

There are times when I like to design web sites, and there are times when I like to generate stuff to go on a web site, but I have a devil of a time wearing both hats. I like the idea of a site that runs itself and grows with me when I write and post images, and so this current series, A Lake George Diary, is my experiment with the medium.

Other than that, I'm a writer of books on computer software, mostly about a software application called Bryce. Late last August, I quit my job at MetaCreations (before the Great Layoffs of '99 came down), and have been taking a sabbatical to work on other things, such as personal projects that I've always been meaning to get around to, and some travelling. Mostly I've been working on Real World Bryce 4. But now, in January, I've gone from home (California) to upstate New York, to spend a bit of the winter with my 99-year old grandfather. (hence this diary) I'm still working on the book, though.

That's it for now! Please post something yourself! :D

Susan

[garret p vreeland]

veeery cute. i like it.

i'm garret p vreeland, of array design studio.

i'm a web designer/programmer in santa fe, new mexico.

i come to this site to find out about the technological implications of maintaining a three-holer versus maintaining an editthispage.com site.

how's that?

(grin)

[Mark Cidade]

Hello.
To reiterate, my name is Mark Cidade. My road to Manila started with reaching Hotwired some time in 1995 and clicking on Dave Winer's face in a hasty attempt to surpass the splash-screen and get to the content. Here's a Davism from that time:
As we communicate more and more thru email and the web, we can connect with more people, we can become more visible. Our ideas travel further and do it much more quickly. But along with this new power, our ability to listen can and hopefully will evolve too.DaveNet, "I Become Invisible"
I'm a Web developer/architect/designer/author/writer/artist.html. Right now, I work for the Carrier Systems part of 3Com. I'm currently working on an E-commerce site for their CommWorks line of products.
I live in Toronto, Canada and it's too freaking cold right now. I'm looking into being transfered to 3Com headquarters in Santa Clara. For information about me or whatever it is I do, you can visit my ETP site.

[Luke Tymowski]

I've no idea what I am. :)

I've been following Scripting News for a few years now. In early November I asked Dave a question about his Qube, he didn't know the answer, and he suggested I edit a Qube weblog. (I own an original Qube which hosts my various Web sites and those of friends and family ... even my cat.

I'm working right now as a Sysadmin, where I'm securing an NT network, cleaning up a Notes server, fixing whacked out notebooks, helping coordinate a move from one office to another, selecting a new T1 vendor, grokking routers, CSU/DSUs, trying to find a phone system to handle up to 50 employees, and trying to find a way to use Zope or Python or both to manage the whole network (because Perl is not maintainable).

Right now I live in Toronto. I've lived all over Canada and southern Africa. I have enough books to start a small shop, and my books range from Sir Thomas Browne to Neal Stephenson.

I'm helping a friend write a play, and like everyone else I'm starting a novel.

I discovered Susan while browsing through the member listing of my Qube site and was curious about her domain (auntialias). Hmm. I get the meaning if I pronounce it like an American. I wondered about it before. :)

[Stefan]

wow !
all these Technic-freaks and geeks gathered here ....
its in the middle of the night here in southern Germany, some snow is falling and this night will become very cold....
Usually working as an anaesthesiologist in a hospital i came across Frontier a few month ago. The idea behind Manila hit me hard and im joyfully playing around with it. Trying to build a site for our dep.

Currently we wait for our baby to come ! (http://orpheus.editthispage.com)
and the ease of the tone in which Susan describes her site has just attracted me !
Cute !

[Susan Kitchens]

Mark! Hiya and thanks for introducing yourself! :) (I love the way you define/your/vocations/and/activities/in/slashed/multi/capacities.html!!!)

Great DaveQuote(tm). Increasing reach begets increasing heeding. I hope. Here's an interesting quote I remember from a speech I heard while in college: "You haven't really heard someone until you've felt the tug of their persuasion."

[Susan Kitchens]

Luke! Greetings! Thanks for posting!

Yeah, I stumbled onto Luke's Qube Quorner website and there I told the story about how my Qube died, in excruciating up-to-the-minute detail. (It was, after a time, resurrected by the folks at Cobalt.)

I coined the AuntiAlias name back in the early days of Bryce. As a 3D app, it of course antialiases during rendering--a long, arduous process to wait through (this was back in the days of a Macintosh Quadra and a screen-sized render took overnight). I was answering questions on the then-HSC boards on AOL, and began signing my posts "Auntie Alias." Not long after that, I got the bright idea to cehck to see if I could make that into an AOL screen name (yow! 10 character limit truncated it intoAuntiAlias) and thus that identity was born. Naturally, in time, the domain name followed.

-S

[Susan Kitchens]

Stefan,

I went and looked at your site! Unfortunately, I can't comprehend it... but... When I was in Germany two years ago, I happened to go to along the Rhine River, and saw the rock of Lorelei, and heard the story. When I told my grandfather about my trip, he began to recite this poem. (in fact, just the other day, when we were coming back from our shopping trip, he began to recite it!)

So, I offer it to you.

Die Lorelei

Ich wei nicht, was soll es bedeuten,
da ich so traurig bin;
ein Mrchen aus alten Zeiten,
das kommt mir nicht aus dem Sinn.

Die Luft ist khl und es dunkelt,
und ruhig fliet der Rhein;
der Gipfel des Berges funkelt
im Abendsonnenschein.

Die schnste Jungfrau sitzet
dort oben wunderbar,
ihr goldnes Geschmeide blitzet,
sie kmmt ihr goldenes Haar

Sie kmmt es mit goldenem Kamme,
und singt ein Lied dabei;
das hat eine wundersame,
gewaltige Melodei.

Den Schiffer im kleinen Schiffe
ergreift es mit wildem Weh;
er schaut nicht die Felsenriffe,
er schaut nur hinauf in die Hh.

Ich glaube, die Wellen verschlingen
am Ende Schiffer und Kahn,
und das hat mit ihrem Singen
die Lorelie getan.

--Heinrich Heine

Tch! (I do know that much German!)

I found an English translation, it goes like so:

The Lorelei

I do not know why it should be, but I am so sad: there is an old time fairy-tale which I can't put out of my mind.

The air is cool and the twilight is falling and the Rhine is flowing calmly by; the top of the mountain is glittering in the evening sun.

Up there the most gorgeously beautiful maiden is sitting; her golden jewellery sparkles and she is combing her golden hair.

She is combing it with a golden comb and singing a song as she does so; it has a wonderful compelling melody.

It makes a wild nostalgia possess the boatman in his boat; he can only look up and up.

In the end, if I remember rightly, the waves swallow up the boatman and his boat. And that is what she has done, the Lorelei and her singing.

[Susan Kitchens]

How's that? It's lovely, that's how it is! Shall we start a new thread about the technological implications of maintaining a three-holer? When our family had leased some land in Baja California, on which we put a trailer and an outhouse (only a one-holer, tho it *was* wallpapered with things like maps from National Geographic and Natural History guide to flora and fauna and the like), I did learn that occasionally dumping some lime down it was good, especially during (or immediately after?) times when we had an extended stay and it got lots of use.

[garret p vreeland]

aw, i'm just teasing!

reading material is a *must* in an outhouse. combining the functions by making the national geographic maps serve as wallpaper is inspired. though one might get tired of staring at a 1956 map of botswana ...

(grin)

[Susan Kitchens]

I dunno... it might make you philosophical, instead. Contemplations on the nature of change. 2020 Hindsight and all that rot. To wit: I've been reading correspondence from 1956 and thereabouts!

Actually, this whole thread may take me and my camera tomorrow to do a special feature--just for you! evil grin>

Susan

[garret p vreeland]

oh, no. don't!

i'm already going to a stable over the way to take a shot of a horse's posterior ... just to post when i really screw up.

i've got one for you. i was just unpacking books this last weekend, and came across an old book that i used to love when i was a kid. it's an 1890 copy of "black beauty" ... it's age is enough to make it a standout, but my favorite part is the addendum in the back. its from the american humane society, explaining how to 'kill animals humanely.' has diagrams showing where to hit a horse in the head with an axe, and other such niceties.

i think today's human society would prefer 20/100 hindsight in this particular case ...

[Susan Kitchens]

1890?! Why, that book is 10 years older than my grandpa is!

Actually, after some of the stories I've been hearing of life back then, I think that directions about better ways to kill horses would be appropriate.

My grandpa used to live in a mining town, and mules were used to haul the iron ore on the little cars on tracks that they had in the mine. When one was injured beyond hope, they'd shoot it and it would be taken to "Dead Mule Canyon." And the neighborhood dogs used to like to roll in the mules (that is, the dead ones). So when my grandpa's family dog (Lou) was out in summertime, coming over the hill from the direction of Dead Mule Canyon, my great-grandmother would say, "Shut the doors, shut the doors! Lou's been to Dead Mule Canyon!"

[Scott Hanson]

... and what a great idea to generate discussion on ETP!

I'm a web programmer living near Hamburg, Germany. I grew up in Minnesota, met this really nice exchange student in high school, and, well, you can guess the rest of the story.

And I'm a new parent, and a new digital photographer (well, I push the button on my Nikon and pictures come out), and a new weblogger. I'm still learning all this new stuff.

[julie sigwart]

I'm a friend of Susan's from 10,000 software years ago (which translates into about 8 normal years).

It started long ago while I was living in Phoenix. Kai Krause thought it would be a good idea to create a mailing list for women he knew who used Photoshop professionally. The mailing list was short-lived, but during that time, I scheduled a trip out to California for the CyberArts computer show and to meet up with as many "Photoshopperines" as possible. Susan was the only one that actually showed, and we met up with Kai in what was one of the pre-team meetings of HSC Software (later MetaCreations).

So, for the last eight years of my life, I switched from being a full-time cartoonist and illustrator to learning the ins and outs of software and the internet. MetaCreations was a good five-year ride for me, and since I left, I've both consulted and worked full time on several web projects.

My big current projects are ACEplanet.com and Daryl Cagle's Professional Cartoonists Index. Kids learn programming in live classes on ACEplanet, and Cagle.com is a topical news/humor site which publishes cartoons from over 100 editorial cartoonists and maintains the most complete list of professional cartoonists on the web.

If you're curious about my cartoons (my feature is named "Geeks" - so you can probably guess what it's about), they're at my Happychaos site. I've been posting cartoons whenever I have the time, but lately have been mulling over making it a daily. I'd love to hear any feedback - either here or in direct email at julie@happychaos.com.

[Lee Hinde]

I admit I was drawn by the site name. All my sight is Hinde Sight, although it's not 20-20 unless I'm wearing my glasses. :-)

[Susan Kitchens]

Let's see... if you calculate software years into normal years using an ever-increasing clock cycles of chips, does that mean that years of acquaintance grow at a logarithmic rate? ; )

Seriously-- check out Julie's Geeks Cartoons :D

[Susan Kitchens]

I know what you mean 'bout the 20-20 sight. I'm actually expecting some new glasses to show up here via UPS, then I'll be looking at the world through Rose Colored Glasses! ;)

[Steve Lareau]

Wheeee!!!!!
Just had to pop in and stir things up a little bit. No idea why.. although Susan hasn't added her honorary Late Night Chair Spinning Brycer's Club logo to her site anywhere yet, I feel weird trodding on her turf.

Back to the self inflicted madness,

Stever

[Susan Kitchens]

Steve... you can actually put a link to the logo in your post! Just type the HTML for it there!

Or tell me where to put it, and I'll add it to the chairspin page!

:D

Susan

[john]

Hi
My name is John, and I have worked with Susan for a few years, and met her about 8 years ago through the ubiquitous Kai Krause. I also worked at MetaCreations, and also got out in the nick of time. I now work for FunYellow, animate yellow pages, with free advertising and the ability to write reviews about local businesses.
I just love Susan's photos and writing. I can certainly vouch for her supremacy in the Bryce writing world. She has not only done all Bryce users a fantastic service, but also done sterling work for the Bryce community.
I laughed long and hard when reading her fire story, and have long wanted to meet her grandfather.
Thank you Susan, for this fun place to visit.
John

john@funyellow.com
FunYellow.com Americas animated yellow pages

[boru]

I'm still finding out who I am, but my parents called me John, and then the neighbors started calling me that, and well, you might as well call me John.

I met Susan for the first time at the wonderful Bryce retreat she organized at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico. I met her most recently at the Bryce retreat organized by Chris Casady in Ojai CA.

I can vouch for her. She is authentic.

I spent the last year making a computer game. You can read about it at http://rainbowdragon.com

Now I'm going to night classes at the School of Visual Arts in NYC.

When I was a little kid, my parents always took us to upstate NY for one week in August. It's still a very magical place for me. Rip Van Winkle, and Sleepy Hollow and all that. The Native American tribes in the area believed that anyone who slept under the shadow of the Adirondacks would have to come back every year. It sounds like a curse, but a very nice curse. ; )

John Rawlins
boru@rainbowdragon.com

[Susan Kitchens]

The Native American tribes in the area believed that anyone who slept under the shadow of the Adirondacks would have to come back every year. It sounds like a curse, but a very nice curse.

I'll have to tell my Mom about that one. I guess that the "curse" got me in a weird way... not strictly an annual thing. Though ya know, the last (and first) time I went to Lake George for an extended visit was just after being at Ghost Ranch for a week. That was back in the days of graphic design, before anything having to do with the software industry. Amazingly enough, Georgia O'Keeffe used to spend summers at Lake George.

Does this have anything to do with the nice curse? Or my being authentic, for that matter (Hey thanks for the testimonial!)? Um, it might. Or it might not. :)

[Susan Kitchens]

So that explains why a weblogger from Germany is commenting so astutely on party-line-crossing practices in American elections! :D Is your Nikon a Coolpix, perchance?

[Susan Kitchens]

I laughed long and hard when reading her fire story, and have long wanted to meet her grandfather.

Thanks, John, for introducing yourself! A year ago last fall, I visited my grandpa for a few days. It was the first time I heard The Refrigerator Story. I came back to the office and told my fellow software compatriots about it, thinking that hearing about beta units and prototypes of an earlier era would captivate them as it had me. John was there when I told it, and when I left MetaCreations, he asked me, "Are you going to go and write stories about your grandfather?" I didn't say anything one way or the other to John at the time, but now, with A Lake George Diary, I can say yes, I've begun to write those stories.