All posts by johncohn

Thursday night – I think

I think it’s Thursday night.. but I’m not sure. The days are starting to blur together a bit. We all spend most of our days in our hotel rooms getting ready to start, I don’t know when we’ll start.. but all of us are not wired for hanging around. it’s driving us all nuts… but in a fun way. We all  just got in trouble for drinking wine in the hallway . We need to get out in the wild….
    One other drawback of sitting around waiting in my hotel room is that I have absolutely nothing new to report. Most of my life is being loved vicariously by reading the blogs Diane is writing. It;s so cool to be able to see what is goign on at home. I now understand why folks like to read blogs
    OK.. I’m goign to try an get some sleep. I love you all.. Night everyone..  I miss you Diane. gabe and Max..  Night Sam
-me

Monday night – I'm 50

Happy birthday to me !.. I turned 50 today here in San Fransisco with Diane. the love of my life, beside me…
(and about 2600 other folks at this conference to help me celebrate) .  It’ s amazing to me that a day that I’ve imaged since the time I could count.. the day I’d turn 50 has come.. and almost gone.. More amazing still is I don’t feel an different.   All in all I have to say I’m very content with where I am in life now.. The ups, the downs, adventure, struggles, travel, work. life. play and the loss of Sam are all wrapped together in complicated and beautiful web of memories. Life’s not going to fast or too slow for me now.. it’s just about right..

Here’s the first picture of me at 50 (charming wife included)  as I’m ready to give my talk this morning.

I got downstairs at about 7:30 for the 8:15 start of the conference. I was the last of four plenary speakers..
There were about 2600 folks there this morning . This picture doesn’t’ really capture the size of the room.. it looks pretty big when you’re standing up in front .

The first three talks were good and interesting.. and technical.. Mine was a pretty funny contrast. I was nervous as hell when I got up to talk.. but the moment I started speaking, I relaxed and rolled with it. I had a good time. I could tell that many folks resonated with the message of my talk.. Several came up to me and told me that they were going to start doing outreach…That’s all I could ask for out of the day.. I just saw that there’s a story on eetimes about it

I was so relieved and relaxed as soon as I finished. The four speakers and the conference chairs  were ushered upstairs to a small lunch where we got a chance to unwind. They gave us each a plaque to thank us for speaking.. then fed us very well.. It felt strange and fun to be pampered so much. 

Laura from ISSCC had actually ordered a birthday cake for me (my first of 4 today !) .. They all sang happy birthday !  It was really sweet..

I spent the rest of the day attending talks at the conference.. mixed in with hanging out with Diane. My friends Rob. Larry and Leah had offered to take us out for my birthday.. They suggested Indian.. which sounded good to me.. We walked over to the restaurant.. and SURPRISE!. thee were about 30 friends from all over. I was so shocked I was speechless. It was such a cool mix of people.. Some IBM folks. some CMU folks… and even my leeeeetle seeeester Mary, brother in law John and new baby Theo.. who I’ve never actually seen.  I got to hold him for the very first time ! It was such a wonderful surprise.. I really, really could not believe it.,

John and Mary were in town for a sad reason… theur friend Brian died a few weeks back and they were out for the memorial service > They gave us one fo Brien’s memorial stones.. it was almost like a SamStone !

I remained pretty speechless through the night. I managed to talk to everyone there… it was really. really cool

My firend Bill even wrote a poem  for me..

Then out came ckes 2,3, and 4. I had some of each.. and all were delicious..

We finished up a little before 10 and said lots of long goodbyes…

It was truly an excellent and memorable day. Thanks to everybody who helped make it so..
And thanks to all of you reading for being part of my life..  I’m looking forward to the next 50 !
Good night my friends, nite Sam
-me

Sunday night – forty-niner

Amazing.. I’m writing this as a 49 year old.. by the time I post it I’ll be 50 . What a long strange trip it’s been, too !. I’m humbled to be crossing a threshold that I have imagined since I was a little kid. I clearly remember thinking about the year I’d turn 50.. what would be possible ? what would still be impossible ? How would I feel ? etc.. and now.. it will be like any other day thats ever been ..  I’m trying to decide if 50 years went by in the blink of an eye.. or dragged on. I have to say that I think the time has passed about just right. With the terrible exception of Sam’s passing. I would do it all in over again…. every decision, every good or bad break… in a heartbeat. Even with that unbearable loss, I feel blessed in my life. ThroughSam’s passing I have develoeped a deeper view of the course of our lives. Maybe that’s why this birthdate doesnt feel so much like a milestone in my mortality.. What difference does it make if you life 5 years, or 50 or a hundered. We all return to the same source..

I want to take this moment to thank all of you who have been with me somewhere along my path in the past 50 years. you’ve give to me and made me what I am.. and for that I am truly grateful.   Thank you ! Thanks you, Thank you !

OK.. enough philosophy.. here are soem pictures from our wonderfull dayt in San Fransisco.. Diane and I spent the day quietly together… it was wonderful and memorable. It began with me assembling a ‘spud gun’ in our hotel room..with the windows open to dissipate the smell of the glue.

Diane and I then went for a run dow n by the piers.. It was beutiful and wonderful running. We got to see soem great civic art..

But alas, Gabe.. no skateboarding !

We came across a marker to teh first settlement in SF.. It was dedicated to Saint Francis of Asisi He’s always been a hero of mine.. after growing up at St. Francis Church in Houston Tx.

Diane and I decided to run up Telelgraph hill.. We loved the tangle of old building up there.. We also really loved the gardens.

The view from on top of the hill was really wonderful !

Dinae and I then spent the resot of the moring in our hotel room, doing yoga, and discussing the fe remaing trouble charts in my talk.. She’s been so much help to me  !  We finally filled up our brains on my subject, so we chose to take another walk. .. We went up through the Yerba Buena center.. It was beautiful…

We found a great reflecting pool up there and decided to place a Samstone there.. no one saw…

Aroud 5 I had to head downstairs and do a full rehersal on my talk … It went pretty well, though we got a bit of a late start.

I’m still very nervous about tomorrows talk.. but after todays dry run.. I feel pretty good.  I’ll let you all know how it goes.
We ended the day with a really wonderful italian dinner with Larry and Leah . Larry started the dinner converstion with his sotry about fyling down to Tampa to see the super bowl.. He always has to make arraingements at games to make sure his wheel chair will fit.. This time the ball club almost shafted him.. they gave away all the accesible seating.. so Larry was left holding superbowl tickets.. but no superbowl  seating.. he took it up with the NFL.. In the end , he  and daughter Hannah  got 50 yardline tickets with the likes of Martha Stewert and ‘Dwight’ from the office.

Dinner was wonderful

as was catching up with Larry and Leah. I was particulalry interested to hear abotu Leah’s progress on getting some of her kids book manuscripts publshed It really sounds like’s it’s just a matter of time 

OK.. I’m statting to fall asleep now. 30 min until my birthday.. and I plan on being already asleep.   My talk is tomorrow monring.. I hope it goes well.. Euther way.. it will be doen by this time tomorrow..

Again.. hanks to all of you who’ve made this 50 years meaningful and important.. I look forward to working/living with you for another 50 ..

Good night everyone.. Good night Sam
Happy birthday to me !
me

thursday night – connection

Friends … I apologize. Gabe and I are at max’s apartment and I don’t have an internet connection in my room. It’ll have to be a post from my blackberrymm so it will be short. Gabe and I came down for the day to see the red bull snow scrapers snowboard competition. Its been a really great day. I got in a sull day of work on the phone.. The spent 6 hours with gabe watching some of the worlds best snowboarders fly down a 9 story artificial mountain. What’s more, we scored back stage passes for the event. Its a long story… One for a bigger keyboard. Ill give the whole story an pix tomorrow. We got to maxes just before 11pm and rthe three of us went out to dinner at one of my favorite resturaunts… Red bamboo.. All vegan. It was so great being with max and gabe.$. A really, really good day

Its now about 1:30 and I’m pretty sleepy. Ill pick up the story tomorrow.. All for now. Nite friends. Nite sam !