Networks, Complexity, and Relatedness

Networks, Complexity, and Relatedness
Inquiry and learning into social networks, organizational network analysis, and the relationships among people and systems in complex organizations and networks.

Friday, December 21, 2007

Eight Things I Know About Me

I have been tagged by Dave Snowden to reveal eight things about myself that are not commonly known. Dave himself revealed such details about his past as having lived in a commune (and slapping a child who threw a kitten down a stairwell) and participating in expotitions looking for UFOs. My life has not been nearly as interesting. Here are my eight.

I married my stepson. That is, I performed the marriage ceremony. You can do this in Massachusetts, if you pay $10.00 for a certificate to perform a specific marriage. The ceremony was outdoors at the Fruitlands in Harvard, a beautiful day at a beautiful place. (Fruitlands, by the way, was a commune.)
The first time I set foot in an ocean was on the opposite side of the Atlantic from my own home. Born in land locked Wisconsin (excepting the great lakes), I spent a college semester in Brittany, and lived with a family who took pains to get me out and about. Mont Saint Michelle was especially inspiring.
I first started working for IBM while I was crashing (quaint '70's term) at the home of friends who just happened to make their living selling pot, hash, and various psychedelics.
My first-ever vacation south of the 33rd parallel was in pre-revolutionary El Salvador. I was young, had some time and decided at the last minute to go somewhere warm for Christmas. A travel agent signed me up for a trip to a heavily guarded hotel in the middle of San Salvador, where I spent most of the time getting tanned at the pool. Two kind elderly gentlemen from New Jersey invited me along when they rented a car to go visit the black sand beaches. I think I got out of the hotel two other times.
One of my four brothers is the captain of a nuclear submarine, the SSBN West Virginia (or "West BY GOD Virginia" as he likes to say).
My mother was the youngest of 10 children. My grandfather was a blacksmith.
I scavenge crossword puzzles from newspapers abandoned in airport waiting areas. I keep them in a notebook in my bag, so I always have something to fill up waiting times when I feel neither like reading nor working.
I am an accidental gardener. Successive waves of landscaping projects have left me with 7 or 8 planting areas, including one very long and deep border which is mostly in the shade. I do not plan, but come by plants and do my best for them. Sometimes I dig everything out and start over.

Yes, Dave, I do keep up with your blog. And, Thanks.

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patti anklam. How to make networks work.

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