Walking Through the Park....

...and reminiscing....

So, I'm finally back in school, almost 20 years to the day I left.

It's kind of familiar, but still a new experience, as it seems that many new buildings have gone up, everyone's wired, and, of course, I'm sitting in the (new, to me at least) student union typing this post.

Twenty-five years ago, I would've had to go next door to the Engineering building and get in the computer lab to type this up and email it. And, let's face it, pretty much the only folks I could've emailed it to 20 years ago were my fellow professors and students, who I saw every damn day in the lab anyway, and wouldn't have even bothered.

The times they have done changed. Well, except for the pretty girls in jogging shorts running around the mall. Nowadays, I can snap a picture with my phone (I just did), and send it to my old college roommate up in the Pacific Northwest without a single pause of consideration (although I do wonder if his phone gets pictures).

Like I said, times changed. But, at least the Engineering building is still open and I got to sneak in and see my old T.A.'s office, even if I was leading a dog around with me, and we ignored all the "No Pets" signs. Twenty-five years ago, the Engineering, Computer Science, Architecture, and the Main, Science, and Medical Libraries were the only buildings that were open 24/7/365, and I know, because I spent way too many hours than a human being should writing code at 3 a.m. and eating out of vending machines. I guess some good came out of all that (wireless access for one), but it's still nice to get a look of surprise when I pull a mouse out of my bag to plug into the laptop. "Mouse?, they say. Why not use the trackpad?" Hell, people, when I was your age, we had to build our own mouse out of wooden blocks! A-and, we had punch cards, dammit!"

Wow. Gettin' crotchety in my old age. If'n I don't watch myself, I may go out to the mall area and yell at those young'uns to "Git the hell off my lawn!"

There's still a band playing and some activity going on out on the mall, and Old Main is still a nice place to watch the sunshine. And, some Mensa for high schoolers organization in doing science qualifications (sponsored by Raytheon) all over campus are walking by with the strangest looking experiments (it looks as if someone made a windmill with eggshells for the blades).

But, that's all for the travelogue. I'll try post if I get a chance to go to South Tucson for some real food, but otherwise, sometime when I get back to the homestead.

Enjoy the weekend!