182 lines
9.3 KiB
HTML
182 lines
9.3 KiB
HTML
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<title>Silicon Valley Humor, Baby Boomer Style LG #91</title>
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<A HREF="kruk.html"><< Prev</A> | <A HREF="index.html">TOC</A> | <A HREF="../index.html">Front Page</A> | <A HREF="http://www.linuxgazette.com/cgi-bin/talkback/all.py?site=LG&article=http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue91/lodato.html">Talkback</A> | <A HREF="../faq/index.html">FAQ</A> | <A HREF="loozzr.html">Next >></A>
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WIDTH="200" HEIGHT="41" border="0"></A>
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<SMALL>...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I></SMALL>
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<BIG><BIG><STRONG><FONT COLOR="maroon">Silicon Valley Humor, Baby Boomer Style</FONT></STRONG></BIG></BIG>
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<BR>
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<STRONG>By <A HREF="../authors/lodato.html">Janine M Lodato</A></STRONG>
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<P> I am lucky. I accompany my husband, Laszlo, to all the important high level
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board meetings and listen to how these smart Silicon Valley executives enjoy
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the new revolutionary passion of my husband, the Hungarian revolutionary who
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fought the Soviets and put the first big crack into that Evil Empire. But now
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his revolution is against the real Evil Empire: Microsoft. His new weapons
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are Linux and the Internet.
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<P> During one of the coffee breaks Laszlo cannot resist making the point
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about the importance of coffee in the world of revolution.
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The students in Budapest in 1956 sewed the seeds of revolution hovering over
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their double espressos in the coffeehouse on Castle Hill in Buda. Ever since
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the death of Joseph Stalin In 1953, the male youth of Budapest have been
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meeting almost daily to plot an uprising against their communist oppressors.
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<P> Not until today, October 22nd, 1956, does the time seem ripe for action.
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<P> His university colleagues and he determine which city squares they will
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stage their peaceful protests in: the technical university in Bem Square, the
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medical university in the square of the revolutionary poet, the universities
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of science and the arts in still other squares around Buda and Pest.
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<P> Over the centuries, coffee has earned the reputation of stimulating
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thought, boosting energy levels, preventing sleep, fostering opposition to
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rulers. Certain rulers throughout history (Napoleon, Frederick the Great,
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Pope Clement) have even tried to ban its widespread use because of its
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reputation. Late in the 16th century, Pope Clement liked coffee so much, he
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decided to adopt it, not ban it.
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<P> By 1700, coffeehouses in England were banned as hotbeds of revolution.
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In 1789, Danton met with fellow revolutionaries in Paris coffeehouses to
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plan the French Revolution. 1956 sees no bans on coffeehouses in Hungary, so
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he and his colleagues sip their espressos in this coffeehouse in Buda talking
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of strategies for the revolution they have planned to begin tomorrow.
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<HR NOSHADE WIDTH="80%"> <!--*********************** -->
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<P> The meeting is at the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco with its
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atmosphere quite coffeehouse-like and quite appropriate for this
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revolutionary discussion.The Board members arrive early morning at the marina
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and are greeted by a high fog and drizzle. By noon, the fog burns off and
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the day is beautiful, clear, sunny and cool, typical of San Francisco's
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summertime weather. The setting of the Yacht Club with its great windows and
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verandas provides a spectacular panorama of the San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz
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at one end of the picture window and the Golden Gate Bridge at the other.
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Squawking seagulls furnish the sound effects for the meeting as they nose
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dive to the deck to pick up the bread crumbs left for them.
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<P> But the meeting is very long so my feet often swell from hanging down
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as I sit in my wheelchair.
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<P> The subject of the meeting is deep and important: what can assistive
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technology do for, what must it do for the baby boomers.
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<HR NOSHADE WIDTH="80%"> <!--*********************** -->
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<P> As baby boomers creep into old age, we acknowledge the passing of our
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grandparents, aunts and uncles, parents, movie stars and singers from the
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generation ahead of us. In rare instances, we have even been forced to
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accept the deaths of two famous peers, both Beatles, some infamous peers and
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worst of all, some of our children. Now it is time for us to face the
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reality of our own mortality, something I have had to do since being
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diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 1980.
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<P> It won't be long before we must say goodbye to that generation of
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actors which includes Marlon Brando and Liz Taylor. In 1970 we tried hard to
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look like them. Now we try hard NOT to look like them. Soon enough, we will
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bid farewell to other favorite actors and singers, such as Dustin Hoffman,
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Meryl Streep, the two remaining Beatles, Elton John, Congress, the Clintons
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and finally to our families or whoever is left when our time is up.
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<P> Deadheads used to listen to the music of the Grateful Dead for relief
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from their woes. Now they call Dr. Jack Kevorkian for that relief.
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<P> In 1994, the world saw Superman as a courageous, heroic, fictitious
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character and admired him for his bravery. After his accident in 1995, the
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world saw Superman (Christopher Reeve) as a courageous, heroic, real-life
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figure and admired him even more for his bravery.
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<P> Because I am now confined to a wheelchair with near quadreplegia and can
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no longer run from anything, I need to use voice recognition for the computer
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and the telephone both requiring aid from my husband in moving the mouse and
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pushing buttons. The same goes for the remote controlling devices for the
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television and the CD player. I need hands-free control of the computer,
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telephone, television, CD player and wheelchair.
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<P> The point is, good things about me do exist: I am not blind, I am not
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broke, I am not boring, I am not betrayed and I am not braindead.
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<P> It would behoove people in the high-tech industry to produce
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hands-free products controlled by voice recognition paired with lip-reading to
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improve accuracy. I'm sure that day will come, I just don't know when. In the
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meantime, I must make use of voice recognition as it stands in 2002 so I speak
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to my computer and yell at my husband but the computer responds better and does
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not have an attitude.
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<P> Everyone is disabled at some time in their lives. Consider the driver
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who must always keep her eyes on the road. She is better off using voice
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activation to initiate, converse on and end telephone calls. One day , a car
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will be driven using voice activation. It's only a matter of time.
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<P> Technology developers should keep in mind that baby boomers make up a
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large share of the market. If they can bring in-home and automobile
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technology up to speed for that generation, they will win bigtime.
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<HR NOSHADE WIDTH="80%"> <!--*********************** -->
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<P> After many grueling hours of meeting at the Yacht Club, my husband reaches
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down and pulls my legs up to rest in his lap. Upon seeing this, one board
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member says to me, Your husband is so gracious. To which I respond, Yes, he
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can be very gracious. But don't let down your guard. He can also be a real
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asshole.
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<P> When Laszlo hears this, he adds, Mind you, that's not just any old
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asshole, that's a Royal Asshole.
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<!-- *** BEGIN author bio *** -->
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<P>
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<P>
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<!-- *** BEGIN bio *** -->
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<!-- P>
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<img ALIGN="LEFT" ALT="[BIO]" SRC="../gx/2002/note.png">
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<em>
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</em>
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<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
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<hr>
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<CENTER><SMALL><STRONG>
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Copyright © 2003, Janine M Lodato.
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Copying license <A HREF="../copying.html">http://www.linuxgazette.com/copying.html</A><BR>
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Published in Issue 91 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, June 2003
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</STRONG></SMALL></CENTER>
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