Inspiration
The inspiration to create this website is based on multiple factors and considerations:
Boston College - Before I retired from Boston College in 2004 a fellow longtime employee, Joe Harrington, and I promised the late Tom O'Connor, University Historian, that we would write a history of Information Technology at BC. Recently Fr. Jim Woods and Retired Professor Peter Olivieri have made the same request. Unfortunately Joe Harrington is no longer physically capable of tackling the task, but a promise is a promise and I am obligated to not only Dr. O'Connor but to my former colleagues at BC. There is a nice story to tell; so I need to empty my memory bank and put those remembrances in a form that is shareable and reusable by others.
Parents - On rare occasions my late mother or father would talk about their younger days and their families, but I guess I either didn't listen well or the information was limited. In any case I regret that I never asked my parents very many questions and, consequently, i know very little about my mother and father's early years. I don't want my children to have the same experience.
Digital Life - My wife, Pat, and I live in a small, but wonderful, condominium in Florida. One of our constant challenges is what to do with boxes of memorabilia that contain paper documents, VHS tapes, DVDs, hard-copy photos, etc. In addition, we have been stockpiling thousands of photos on our computers for years with no real organization. The time has come for us to go digital and to get both our personal and professional digital lives in order. Hopefully this website will provide a collection digital structure that will permit me to contribute new information and new memories on an on-going basis; sort of like a retrospective Facebook.
Provide a Perspective - One of the interesting aspect of reminiscing about the past is the recognition that every activity or accomplishment has to be viewed in the context of the time and the existing social and technical environment. What existed then is generally taken for granted today. So it becomes equally important to inform readers of what it was like as well as what happened and why. In everything that I did professionally I loved the role of a change agent and the challenge of innovating for the future.
The only logical way to tackle the large task ahead is to think and to act in small pieces, and to let the website evolve without worrying about meeting deadlines. I expect the job of compiling, documenting and creating Web pages will be daily and endless and there is a possibility that the resulting product may turn out to be only a digital memorabilia collection. In any case the rewards should be plentiful, if only on a personal basis.
Last Revised December 2015
Boston College - Before I retired from Boston College in 2004 a fellow longtime employee, Joe Harrington, and I promised the late Tom O'Connor, University Historian, that we would write a history of Information Technology at BC. Recently Fr. Jim Woods and Retired Professor Peter Olivieri have made the same request. Unfortunately Joe Harrington is no longer physically capable of tackling the task, but a promise is a promise and I am obligated to not only Dr. O'Connor but to my former colleagues at BC. There is a nice story to tell; so I need to empty my memory bank and put those remembrances in a form that is shareable and reusable by others.
Parents - On rare occasions my late mother or father would talk about their younger days and their families, but I guess I either didn't listen well or the information was limited. In any case I regret that I never asked my parents very many questions and, consequently, i know very little about my mother and father's early years. I don't want my children to have the same experience.
Digital Life - My wife, Pat, and I live in a small, but wonderful, condominium in Florida. One of our constant challenges is what to do with boxes of memorabilia that contain paper documents, VHS tapes, DVDs, hard-copy photos, etc. In addition, we have been stockpiling thousands of photos on our computers for years with no real organization. The time has come for us to go digital and to get both our personal and professional digital lives in order. Hopefully this website will provide a collection digital structure that will permit me to contribute new information and new memories on an on-going basis; sort of like a retrospective Facebook.
Provide a Perspective - One of the interesting aspect of reminiscing about the past is the recognition that every activity or accomplishment has to be viewed in the context of the time and the existing social and technical environment. What existed then is generally taken for granted today. So it becomes equally important to inform readers of what it was like as well as what happened and why. In everything that I did professionally I loved the role of a change agent and the challenge of innovating for the future.
The only logical way to tackle the large task ahead is to think and to act in small pieces, and to let the website evolve without worrying about meeting deadlines. I expect the job of compiling, documenting and creating Web pages will be daily and endless and there is a possibility that the resulting product may turn out to be only a digital memorabilia collection. In any case the rewards should be plentiful, if only on a personal basis.
Last Revised December 2015