Souls: Lost and Found

There is this really nice book I read sometime last year. Its called 'Soul of a new machine'. It won the pulitzer prize in 1980 but the feelings, thought process and emotions in it are relevant even today. If you want to understand the spirit of engineering, startups, the enterpreneurial spirit, why ppl leave big companies for high risk startups etc etc this one gives you a feel of it. The falling flat on you face, the lifting up, the eureka moments.... When there are problems and you can't figure it out you start wondering if the problem is in h/w of s/w or yourself. They also talk about h/w sometimes taking a trip to never never land :-) You don't need to have any engineering background to appreciate it. Its a true account about the amazing efforts of a manager called 'West' and his team of engineers, the 'Hardy boys' and the 'Microkids'. It follows the engineering project life cycle at a company called 'Data General', where this team set out on a task to build a minicomputer, code-named 'Eagle'. Its not just about super humans who overcame obstacle after obstacle to reach their goals but about real people and their lives and how they brought meaning to their lives by following their dreams. I felt a bit sad at the end but its a story thats food for the soul.

So I say
Thank you for the music, the songs I'm singing
Thanks for all the joy they're bringing
Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty
What would life be?
Without a song or a dance what are we?
So I say thank you for the music
For giving it to me

A friend sent me this site which mentions the whereabouts of the 'Eagle' team in 2000.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.12/soul.html
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.12/eagleteam.html

This site on Apple's original days is also a good read. It gives you an insight into the lives of the original Macintosh developers, including the ressurection man, 'Steve Jobs'.
http://www.folklore.org

If you stop before you start

If you stop before you start
You will never know how far
That you can go
If you do not give your all
You will never know how far
That you can throw

If you do not stand tall
You will never know how high
That you can reach
If you do not speak your mind
You will never know just who
That you can teach

If you do not leave your house
You will never know if you can
Reach the stars above
If you do not give your heart
You will never know how much
That you can love

By Joseph Rohrbach