My most recent post on remembering Joel Smith had a particular perspective that, on reflection, seems woefully one-sided, and needs a coda. It's naturally all about my memories and experience of the man and the illness that befell him midway through his life, and that's fine as far as it goes. But it's not far … Continue reading Coda: Remembering the Right Man

Death means many things, but one thing it means is that our chances are finite. The other day I learned that a friend and mentor of my youth, Joel P. Smith, had died at the age of 80. It is not too much to say that there was a time in my life when I … Continue reading Last Chance Lost: Remembering Joel P. Smith

Yesterday I wrote an email to a friend (using Gmail), and in it mentioned by name a hotel in Zihuatanejo, Mexico where my wife and I had stayed years ago.  The hotel's name wasn't in the subject line; it was deep in the text of a rather lengthy email.  That afternoon, while doing some online research on a magazine … Continue reading The Future of the Internet