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patrickmay 23 hours ago [-]
Many of these are beautiful, but it's missing one of the best ever written, by Olin Shivers in the Scsh Reference Manual:
Who should I thank? My so-called ``colleagues,'' who laugh at me behind my back, all the while becoming famous on my work? My worthless graduate students, whose computer skills appear to be limited to downloading bitmaps off of netnews? My parents, who are still waiting for me to quit ``fooling around with computers,'' go to med school, and become a radiologist? My department chairman, a manager who gives one new insight into and sympathy for disgruntled postal workers?
My God, no one could blame me -- no one! -- if I went off the edge and just lost it completely one day. I couldn't get through the day as it is without the Prozac and Jack Daniels I keep on the shelf, behind my Tops-20 JSYS manuals. I start getting the shakes real bad around 10am, right before my advisor meetings. A 10 oz. Jack 'n Zac helps me get through the meetings without one of my students winding up with his severed head in a bowling-ball bag. They look at me funny; they think I twitch a lot. I'm not twitching. I'm controlling my impulse to snag my 9mm Sig-Sauer out from my day-pack and make a few strong points about the quality of undergraduate education in Amerika.
If I thought anyone cared, if I thought anyone would even be reading this, I'd probably make an effort to keep up appearances until the last possible moment. But no one does, and no one will. So I can pretty much say exactly what I think.
Oh, yes, the acknowledgements. I think not. I did it. I did it all, by myself.
seanhunter 3 days ago [-]
One of my favourite dedications is in the preface to “Real Analysis: A long-form mathematics textbook” by Jay Cummings (which is as it sounds a maths textbook). The dedication reads
“To my loving wife, who read this entire book, apart from the maths parts.”
sanswork 21 hours ago [-]
Along similar lines, Tad Williams dedicates each of his Otherland books to his dad but notes his dad doesn't read his books so probably won't know about it. By the 4th book his dad still doesn't know and he mentions something like "I'm thinking of creative ways to let him know like getting all my family in a room and saying 'Everyone that hasn't had a book dedicated to them take three steps forward...oops actually dad...'
AdhemarVandamme 23 hours ago [-]
Not on the list, yet likely of interest to the Hacker News audience, is the dedication in the first volume of Donald E. Knuth’s “The Art of Computer Programming”:
“This series of books is affectionately dedicated
to the Type 650 computer once installed at
Case Institute of Technology,
in remembrance of many pleasant evenings.”
ogundipeore 2 days ago [-]
These are really beautiful. I stumbled on it this morning when I woke up & took a nap afterwards…ended up dreaming about my mum and giving her a warm goodbye hug.
Thank you for sharing
dieselgate 22 hours ago [-]
My grandfather was a large-animal veterinarian and wrote a textbook about bovine health and nutrition. The book is dedicated to the dairy cow and how they're so important for human/civilization development. At some point I heard my grandmother was kind of upset it wasn't dedicated to her!
dash2 3 days ago [-]
If you read this and thought “these are twee, and I long not to read their books” - you got a friend in me.
None of these comes close to hypocrite lecteur, mon semblable, mon frère.
1000101 21 hours ago [-]
My most favorite dedication (sorry for ruining the special moment for you!) is from a book by Terry Eagleton, called "On Evil". There's an almost blank page which simply reads:
"To Henry Kissinger"
tt_dev 3 days ago [-]
Holding on to a shadow where love and life once lived.
These were touching to read
mrroryflint 14 hours ago [-]
Why did you re-submit this? Was it deleted before?
stonecharioteer 5 hours ago [-]
I think my favourite are from the Otherworld books by Tadd Williams. He dedicated it to his dad who doesn't read and never told him about it. The gag goes on to all the books into the series.
cr125rider 3 days ago [-]
Man these tore me up. What wonderfully written sentiments.
Who should I thank? My so-called ``colleagues,'' who laugh at me behind my back, all the while becoming famous on my work? My worthless graduate students, whose computer skills appear to be limited to downloading bitmaps off of netnews? My parents, who are still waiting for me to quit ``fooling around with computers,'' go to med school, and become a radiologist? My department chairman, a manager who gives one new insight into and sympathy for disgruntled postal workers?
My God, no one could blame me -- no one! -- if I went off the edge and just lost it completely one day. I couldn't get through the day as it is without the Prozac and Jack Daniels I keep on the shelf, behind my Tops-20 JSYS manuals. I start getting the shakes real bad around 10am, right before my advisor meetings. A 10 oz. Jack 'n Zac helps me get through the meetings without one of my students winding up with his severed head in a bowling-ball bag. They look at me funny; they think I twitch a lot. I'm not twitching. I'm controlling my impulse to snag my 9mm Sig-Sauer out from my day-pack and make a few strong points about the quality of undergraduate education in Amerika.
If I thought anyone cared, if I thought anyone would even be reading this, I'd probably make an effort to keep up appearances until the last possible moment. But no one does, and no one will. So I can pretty much say exactly what I think.
Oh, yes, the acknowledgements. I think not. I did it. I did it all, by myself.
“To my loving wife, who read this entire book, apart from the maths parts.”
“This series of books is affectionately dedicated
to the Type 650 computer once installed at
Case Institute of Technology,
in remembrance of many pleasant evenings.”
Thank you for sharing
None of these comes close to hypocrite lecteur, mon semblable, mon frère.
"To Henry Kissinger"
These were touching to read