1999

Hey, kids: do you remember 1999?



Do you remember when there was a New Economy and we called the internet "cyberspace" and websites "new media" and the stock market was going up and up and up and "nobody can be told what the Matrix is" and every week another kid was a software billionaire? In 1999, half my students were cutting classes to sweet-talk venture capitalists and launch IPOs, and I thought about when I was 12 and split my time between playing D&D and programming Apple BASIC, but then I only kept one of those geeky hobbies going over the years, and in 1999 I asked myself, is it possible I backed the wrong horse?

( Well, do ya? )

One man's hammer is another's bent nail.

We just got in from Doyle's, and you guys are the Fonz. Thanks for coming out, everybody. I hope you had as much fun as I did. I'm so touched by the present, and blown away by the song. I know I was supposed to wait to listen to it, but I didn't, and man, I knew peaseblossom could write a song, but head58 is great, toy guitar or no!

(And jeregenest and peaseblossom, you were there in spirit, and I hope you enjoyed the concert and getting to be a couple tonight. Plus, thanks for dinner last night, which was astonishing as always.)

Now I'm all nostalgic and blue about leaving, but in a good way, I guess, if that's possible. Thanks again. :)