Dad

It was my dad's 85th birthday today.

No big party or anything but I met my brother, Ian, and my dad at the Bell in Bath where Swamp Donkey were playing live. It was very good, especially their final number which included solos by each band member and a cameo performance by a kazoo-playing member of the audience!

Nice pint as well.

Somewhat strangely, my dad gave me a present - a copy of the second edition of "On the Internet - Thinking in Action" by philosopher Hubert L. Dreyfus. Described by First Monday as, "a sharp and stimulating discussion of the promises of the Internet ... Dreyfus's critique of hyper learning provides much food for thought and raises the level of the discussions amongst concerned educators and technologists", it sounds right up my street. I don't have a particularly good track record with books that my dad gives me but I'll try hard with this one.

I doubt that my dad will ever see this blip since he steadfastly refuses to get himself any kind of Internet connection. It's not that he is a technophobe or anything, I just think he sees it as a big distraction from real life or something - and, to be honest, my dad doesn't need much distraction! On that basis, the next line is probably wasted...

Happy birthday dad.