Great, call De here in Vermont. And have her just above zero for most of the day. It was right outside so we decided to go for a snowshoe. We did one of our favorite hikes which is to go up Honey Hollow road which is closed for the season and then just turn right and go up the hill side.… Doing it with the GPS makes it even more fun because we know how to get back
Get some steep climbs and then explored a high Valley that we had visited in a long time. We found some amazing ice cliffs
A funny thing happened before we left. We ran in two guys that had a really nice micro camper. We talk to them for a bit
It turns out that tonight one of them . Zac. and I figured out that we actually know each other pretty well we just didn’t recognize each other. Zach is my friend Hank who is a professor at MIT’s grandson
Diane and I are having an all hip hop weekend . We’re getting tired of our hippy chill folk favorites , so we reached out to gabe and he sent us some playlists . We’re listening to new female hip hop artists . Really liking it .. getting a good anatomy lesson in the bargain !
I just had an interesting revelation… I was listening to some music tonight and put on one of my favorite songs… “Off he Goes” by Pearl Jam. It’s always been sort of an anthem to me… It’s about a guy who’s always too busy for his own good and stressing out about it .. the lyrics go:
One, two, one, two
Know a man his face seemed pulled and tense
Like he’s riding on a motorbike in the strongest winds
So I approach with tact
Suggest that he should relax
But he’s always movin’ much too fast
Said he’ll see me on the flip side
On this trip he’s taken for a ride
He’s been takin’ too much on
There he goes with his perfectly unkept clothes
There he goes
He’s yet to come back
But I’ve seen his picture
It doesn’t look the same up on the racks
We go way back
I wonder ’bout his insides
It’s like his thoughts are too big for his size
He’s been taken where, I don’t know?
Off he goes with his perfectly unkept hope
There he goes
And now I rub my eyes for he has returned
Seems my preconceptions are what should have been burned
For he still smiles and he’s still strong
Nothing’s changed, but the surrounding bullshit, that has grown
And now he’s home, and we’re laughing, like we always did
My same old, same old friend
Until a quarter-to-ten
I saw the strain creep in
He seems distracted and I know just what is gonna happen next
Before his first step, he is off again
You can hear it here
Strange thing was as I was listening to it and trying to pick it out on a guitar I realized I don’t identify with that song anymore I’m still trying to figure out what that means. Does it mean I’m not as stressed and overcommitted as I was? Is that Covid? Is it giving up? Is it reaching a point of deep satisfaction in my life..
Some of all of those ?
I’m voting for the satisfaction part… Stay tuned to find out
On man day one of my oldest ibm friends and mentors John K retired after 40 years at ibm . John was an executive VP when he retired but I remember him when he was a 2nd line manager in Fishkill . I’ve worked somewhere under him in one capacity or another for more than 25 years .. he was a great mentor to me and many other technical folks at ibm. He was kind I’d like The Godfather for the technical leadership . When Sam died .. Jom sent his plan down to pick up our family in Florida .. and .. then showed up at Sams memorial at our house .. I’ll never forget that.
There was a nice virtual tribute to john on Monday . Our svp Dario has put together a really nice program . Our CEO Arvind spoke , as did our former CEO Ginni . Lots of Johns friends and associates from the industry sent video tributes too. It was inspiring to hear from all these folks about how they viewed john and his accomplishments..
In the end Dario gave john some nice tributes including A version of the first chip he worked on include and the final chip it was built under his watch. There’s also given a beautiful scale model of a The IBM Watson jeopardy set and a scale model of aquantum computer.
John made some nice comments Thanking everyone… And especially his wife Honey joe
It was a great ceremony… And really touching. I felt a little sad that more people could be there in person… On the other hand I think so many people from the company dialed in but it was probably more than I could ever have been accommodated in any room
I left the session feeling inspired and a little sad… It’s definitely the end of era
We’ll miss you John… Have fun in your next adventures
