| Re: My Last Post Here [message #43675 is a reply to message #43508] |
Tue, 19 April 2005 06:22   |
David Fanning
Messages: 11724
Registered: August 2001
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Senior Member |
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Haje Korth writes:
> I am still in denial. You *MUST* be joking, right? Has IDL made you that
> desperate that you drop it altogether? (I hope you will not use it for Video
> Editing, I heard there are cheaper packages out for that without the need of
> having to program first. :-)))
Well, I was *mostly* joking (although not about the unisex
bathrooms). But, like all good jokes, there has to be a
certain amount of truth there somewhere or there is no hope
of it being funny.
But the fact that so many people have taken it seriously
has had a profound effect on me: I'm now taking it
seriously myself!
There was a time when all I ever wanted to do was work
with IDL. I loved it. I loved talking about it. I loved
answering questions about it. I loved writing programs
with it. I had no problems sitting in front of a computer
12-14 hours a day.
I still sit in front of a computer a lot, but I've realized
more and more there are other things I want to do with my
life. I've been learning to garden. I'm taking yoga classes.
I've given up playing tennis as often as I used to.
I've even hired a "change coach" to help me clarify what
is most important to me and to develop strategies for
creating a life that is even more congruent with who I
want to be as a person and what my values are.
Then, when you go hang out at college with a bunch of
young people, you just get totally transfixed by how
many interesting things there are to do in this life,
and with how much potential there is to--I don't know--
show up in the world! It is exciting. I was overwhelmed.
It went to my head. I probably said some things I shouldn't
have said.
But after I said them, I think I realized there was more
truth there then I originally intended. :-)
So am I really leaving? Yes and no. I'll be around a bit.
I still have to make a living, after all. And tuition is
a stern taskmaster. But I'm going back to Germany for a
couple of months to work with Karsten and his friends at
the GSF on some active contouring projects we have in
mind. I hope to carve out some more time to write. I was
surprised by how much I enjoyed that last time, and by
how much I discovered about myself and my family by doing
it.
It may be, in the end, that I fall in love with IDL all
over again. It's happened several times with my wife, so
there is no reason to think it couldn't happen with IDL, too.
But for the time being I am taking a break, intentionally
choosing to be less active here and maybe more active in
other areas. (I actually would like to teach some IDL
courses or seminars while I am in Europe.)
So, even though I didn't *really* mean that was my
last post (I'm desperate to get to 10,000, after all!),
I think--for a while--I will be posting less and seeing
if I enjoy it more.
This has been, for a long time, the best newsgroup in
the world. You can't even imagine how much I will miss
it. You really are, all of you, the most supportive and
friendly group of programmers I have ever been privileged
to know. It has been a great deal of fun. I've learned more
from you then you will ever know. Thank you. And I hope
to see you all again.
Cheers,
David
P.S. Let's just say Joseph Campbell's _Myths to Live By_
may not have been the best book to take on the plane last
week if a safe life is what you were after. :-)
--
David Fanning, Ph.D.
Fanning Software Consulting, Inc.
Coyote's Guide to IDL Programming: http://www.dfanning.com/
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