Fayboydom is such a strange state. I know a lot of famous people whom I respect, but most don't make me feel all a-flutter when I hear from them. I can remember feeling so special when I got email from Larry, but these days I'm blase about it. Once upon a time I'd have been proud if Tim O'Reilly was impressed with something I wrote, but now I hope he likes everything I write.[*]
Only two people, I think, have had me bouncing out of my chair and "whee! Whee! I got email from ____!" around the room. The first was Stephen Fry, and the second (just now) was Neil Gaiman. I guess I just have a thing for really good British writers ...
--Nat
[*] I suspect I am not always 100% successful here.
Dude! Dish... what did you do that rated an e-mail from Gaiman? Trés cool!
I can remember feeling so special when I got email from Larry
And I can remember feeling the same way about email from you.
And my journal tells all about that feeling at YAPC last year when I stepped out of the building and ran into Larry, Damian, Simon, and enough other recognizable Perl heroes to make me weak in the knees. Good thing Larry talked about hero worship the next day.
Re:You, too
chaoticset on 2003-03-17T00:50:24
Echo that -- I've lost count of the number of times I've explained to someone who knows nothing of programming who you are, just to tell them that I got not only email but books from you.Hell, I told my father and I think he got the idea he was supposed to be proud of me. Still get a little glow from that.
It occurs to me to thank you again -- _Mastering Perl/Tk_, most notably, has been serving me again of late. So, again, thank you.
:) Re:You, too
gnat on 2003-03-17T11:43:30
You're welcome, but sssh! Don't talk about it so loudly or they'll all want one:-) --Nat
Re:You, too
gnat on 2003-03-17T11:51:44
And I can remember feeling the same way about email from you.:) The difference is that Neil Gaiman and Stephen Fry are worthy of that feeling, whereas I am not! I'm honoured and embarrassed.
I wonder whether blogs break down this celebrity awe--if I tell you that the most physical activity I've had while I've been in New Zealand was mowing the almost 1/2 acre lawn with a self-propelled lawnmower, and that I binge on chocolate biscuits, do you think less of me? If I call someone a dickhead whom you respect more, do you think "ah, well, I guess Nat's just another loud self-made fuckwit"?
--Nat
Re:You, too
jdavidb on 2003-03-17T17:06:03
Bah; blogs are just one of many ways of getting to know a person, and getting to know a person does break down celebrity awe. Do you still feel amazement each time Larry emails you? I mean, he is still an amazing person, and I'm sure you still feel fortunate to be in contact with him -- but now he's your friend.
And, if folks I respect express an opinion I disagree with, I check it out to see if there's something I missed. I may still disagree with them, but I have trouble going from "I really respect that guy," to completely dismissing someone out of hand that fast.
