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February 22, 2006
Dusting Off the Beaten Path Archives
Recently I unearthed a number of files saved to floppy from my early days as an HTML-slinging Web goddess -- back in the time before the Web became filled to the brim with commercial entities. While sifting through the files I'd come across, I found a page from my Web site, which was then titled "Off the Beaten Path." This particular section of the site was called Lip Exchange where topics would be posted and discussed with the readers/visitors of my site. For this round, the topics were "Welcome to Headhunter Hell", "What Makes a Techie?" and "Romancing the Wires." Responses were limited to email as what we take for granted today -- the comments function -- didn't exist back then and I didn't have CGI capability for form submission.
As I read through the responses I received, I found some from Dwight Silverman, who writes for The Houston Chronicle and maintains the Chronicle's Tech Blog (Dwight also had his own Web site in those days.) In addition to Dwight's commentary, other respondents included Stephen D. from Iona Technologies and Mike Macgirvin, who worked for Netscape at the time. When I read Mike's name I wondered what he was up to. It had been a long time since our last Web interaction, so I did what anyone else of curious mind would -- I Googled him. (For us Web dinosaurs, back in the day we would have Yahoo'd since Google wasn't even a glimmer in anyone's eyes yet.)
There he was! His own domain name and a site chock full of, well, Mike. It was terrific finding him. Way back in caveman times, Mike was a frequent visitor to my Web site. I remember how surprised I was when I received a parcel he sent to my office. The package contained a Netscape baseball cap and a sweatshirt (I think I still have it.) During that time I was collecting baseball caps. Yes I wore them they didn't just hang on a wall somewhere. Dwight had also sent me a cap -- it had a propeller on the top and I remember how the geeks in my office went nuts over it and wanted it.. but I digress.
Back to Mike. He's been pretty busy since the early caveman days and it was fun that he remembered me. (Who can forget a Web goddess, from dinosaur days or otherwise.) According to his site, Mike has been writing social communication software and unapologetic online commentary since about 1981. He recently closed the bricks and mortar music store he owned in Mountain View, California, and is considering going back to software -- development, right Mike?
Since I found Mike, he's become a regular commenter around here and has already displayed his supreme geek abilities in his remarks, not that I can comprehend any of them. ;-)
Anyway, it was a fun stroll off the beaten path. Ahhh, those were the days...
Cindy
Comments
I was never an HTML-slinging web goddess. I Altavistaed stuff. Sometimes still do.
This is one reason to hang onto things. I can't bring myself to do it but thankfully other people do.
Brain matter deposited by: Kat on February 22, 2006 2:17 PM
intriguing.
Brain matter deposited by: RONW on February 22, 2006 3:41 PM
Aw shucks...
There weren't a whole lot of html-slinging web goddesses back then. I worked with 8 or 9 of the dozen or so grand total.
I've still got the emails. Just pulled out the archives for use in a legal proceeding and it was fun going through that weird slice in time.
In fact according to the emails, I sent you all the scripts to set up your own feedback page - but
there was some issue as to whether or not you had PERL installed on your server and my technical howto's were "way too technical".
See, some things never change...
Software development(?) - it's a love/hate relationship. I've always made computers do what I want instead of buying somebody else's software that never quite does what I want. But around 2001 I came to the conclusion that it's no longer an honest living. Have seen the ugly side of greed up close and personal. That's why the music store. It's an honest profession. Just biding my time right now - think I'm gonna' go live on a ranch with no electricity. In Australia...
Brain matter deposited by: mike on February 22, 2006 7:14 PM
The Interweb is forever.
Brain matter deposited by: Dwight Silverman on February 23, 2006 9:23 AM
Dwight - thanks for stopping by! It's unfortunate that the Internet Archive doesn't cough up anything pre-1997...
Mike - yup, some things never change. I'd love to see the emails you have in your archives if they were part of our exchanges back then - I don't have those!
Ron - ?
Kat - different (key)strokes for different folks, I guess. :-)
Brain matter deposited by: Cindy on February 23, 2006 11:34 AM
Cindy:
The Interweb is forever; e-mail is not. I binge on e-mail and our systems folks purge...
Brain matter deposited by: Dwight Silverman on February 24, 2006 7:41 AM
Dwight - if you're serious, I'd like to know how the Chron's systems folks perma-delete emails.
uh oh, my techy geek side is showing :-)
Brain matter deposited by: Cindy on February 24, 2006 9:21 AM
bring back the lips !!!
Brain matter deposited by: sdy on February 24, 2006 9:40 PM
Steve - bring them back as in use them once again here for design, or just temporarily? I need more instruction from you! ;-)
Brain matter deposited by: Cindy on February 26, 2006 9:31 AM