When Worlds Collide

[sasha]

hijacked last night by blue stilton
hallucinogenic curds
transporting me to a place and time
on the farside of the looking glass -
to a design team
building a Universal Sensor -
blueprints of a tiny pyramid
with horizontal grooves cut across the peak -
feedback controls -
to meter more fuel
to a starving engine...
more coolant
to an overheating motor...
more medication
to ease a burn victim's pain...
my heuristic software
implanted in the Sensor's brain...
but then the vision grows dark
my participation
no longer voluntary
or temporary
but a years' long sentence
to be carried out...
wait...
I never signed a contract...
did I?
i've retired...
haven't I?
so I make my face a mask
and stroll casually to the river
to see what Security will do....

[mnaz]

I'd like to build a universal sensor!

Sounds like it's hard to let go ...

[saw]

I can't help but fantasize about carpentry projects
i know aren't going to happen...it's in the DNA....

[sasha]

Back in the 70s I burnt out on programming professionally, but I've enjoyed it recreationally ever since. Recently I've been writing software for a guy I used to work with - he's developed a kind of game to be played at sports bars and the like, but it was taking him several hours to create each game board. I wrote some code to automate the process, reducing that time to a little under 10 minutes. It's nice keeping my hand in when the repercussions of mistakes are little more than an apology and a resolve to try again!