One of the reminders of the fall merchandising season (fall ending conveniently enough just before Christmas) is that the material stuff is fine, but it's the people who make the world go 'round. Although I'm sure this is going to leave people out and piss some people off, I wanna take a couple o' "k" and note the people who are standing out in my mind this morning as having been particularly formative in the past year.
Flutterby is as much journal as it is weblog, and as such I want to make sure that the critical times and feelings in my life get recorded.
Catherine for standing up for principle over expedience , and for helping to make sure that we've remained friends.
Charlene for sharing her wonderful energy with me (and Lori and the whole Celebrations of Love crowd for providing the space in which we met).
Todd for goading me out of my complacency at Pixar and pushing me to take economic risks.
Phil for pushing me artisticly and railroading me into my first public photography exhibit at City Cafe in San Rafael. And in conjunction with Sam and Leo organizing the coolest SIGGRAPH party I've been to, let alone a part of making happen.
All the Burning Man participants, but especially Todd , Charlene, Steve and Lori (not the one mentioned above) for making our camp so much fun to hang out in, Ian Barberi (even though he didn't go) for making the quadricycle rock solid, and Kiki for providing us with a totally cool cause to go help whenever we were feeling like we weren't involved enough. And Jolynn for making my weekend spent helping the clean-up effort much more pleasant, and Loren and Kiki again for helping keep the Burning Man ideas flowing throughout the year. And Trey Goesh, whom I've never met, but come to know from thought provoking exchanges and rants on the Burning Man BBS .
Everyone at Pixar , especially the guys in the RenderMan group. Hanging out with some of the smartest people in the world has been fantastic, getting stopped on the street and told how cool A Bug's Life and Toy Story 2 are has been wonderful for the vibes, even though I don't feel like it was my victory, although the entry in the IMDB makes a great story for parties.
1999 has certainly been the year of the blog, and Flutterby has been a big part of my life. A huge thank you for all of my readers, especially those of you who've written to me. Anonymous IP addresses in a log and knowing I'm getting read are one thing, but feedback, suggestions and content are quite another. And I'm very grateful to Debra Hyde and John S Jacobs Anderson , who created two blogs that together covered the topics I wanted to cover in Flutterby better than I did, and then convinced me that my voice was still important.
Columbine whose comments and exchanges keep me thinking, and who's behind Mouthorgan and Nibelung , without which I wouldn't be able to keep up with Camworld , Hack the Planet , PeterMe , The Bradlands , Genehack , FactoVision , Rebecca's Pocket , Medley , Bovine Inversus , Pursed Lips and YAWL , and still have time left over to drop in on Back Up Brain , Stuffed Dog , More Like This , and Robot Wisdom occasionally. And a few others that I've undoubtedly missed.
And although (or perhaps because) sometimes it seems mainly an antagonistic relationship, Dave Winer for making me question what I believe about software development and technology.
The whole gang from Chattanooga , who remind me regularly that family isn't just the people you're born with (and here's where I really know I'm going to leave people out), Mike and Debbie, good friends and proprietors of Higher Technology Services , Eric who should get off his butt and come west to join us in the gold rush, Rick , Robert , tom , Keevah, Mike and Cathy , the other Eric, Julie, Barry , John, and Frank .
And yes, just like family, some of those folks don't talk with some of the others, and I don't always get along with all of 'em either.
Also from 'nooga or thereabouts, Doug, owner of OAR for whom I guided whitewater for many years , and who, when we got together to paddle around Nickajack Lake this summer put it all in perspective when he said that he'd really like to sell the business and get a few more years of guiding in.
To everyone I've slighted by leaving out, I'm sorry you didn't come to mind this morning, but thank you too.
Monday, December 27th, 1999 danlyke@flutterby.com