Conference turris::womannotes-v1

    And what will you be saying come Father's Day when all the
    same stores are putting lawn tractors and trash cans on sale?
    Note that these sales are aimed at spouses rather than children.
    
    I give my mother a nice card, a phone call, and flowers.  If
    I were married, I would not give my wife an appliance of any sort
    for any "special event" - appliances are "house gifts".
    
    					Steve

    What do I want for Mother's Day?
    
    I want:
    1) my kids to not argue for the whole day, or at least not every
       time they are in the same room together.
    2) to be able to sleep in with my husband snuggling next to me,
       and not have him have to go to work that day
    3) to have the sun shine all day long, and a mild breeze to help
       keep the heat down
    4) to hear nothing but good news on the tv and radio
    
    I realize I am asking too much!  But the daydreaming is nice!  I
    want no material things, they are too easily gotten and forgotten!
    If it has to be a material thing, make it by hand, it means so much
    more, and may no be forgotten as easily.
    
    Mary-Lynn
    
    PS.  My mother will get a card and a phone call, she is in Colorado,
    and I am in NE.  And if I can get it done this week, she will get
    pictures that have been waiting to be developed.

    My mother gets a long letter and a card in the mail.  I'm sorry
    I can't be there on Mother's Day.  My Mom-In-Law is closer, and
    she'll get a real gift that my husband saw in the paper -- a photo
    tree for her dresser.  Since she's a new grandmother, she will probably
    enjoy this, and I can send her photos of her granddaughter every
    so often to help add to her collection.  
    
    My first Mother's Day is coming.  My eight-month old daughter has
    me up at 6:00 or 6:30 every morning.  If I could have anything I
    want on Mother's Day, I'd like to sleep till 9:00.
    
    Mary
    

    Ever since I became a mother, my mother and I used to always exchange
    cute, little inexpensive gifts and nice cards for mother's day,
    as well as each giving my daughter money to get something for each
    of us.  But, this year my mother is in the hospital after having
    an aneurysm (an artery burst in her head) a little over a month ago.
     This has affected her awareness to the point that I'm not certain
    she realizes that I'm her daughter or that there even are such
    creatures as mother's.  So, I'm going to send her a card and take
    flowers to the hospital.  But, it certainly won't be the same.
    
    My daughter and I are supposed to go out to eat and to a movie -
    and if she cancels out on me - I'll be bullshit.
    
    Lorna
    

    I would like not to have to worry that something terrible could
    happen to my son, either now, or in the future.  Things like, muggings
    kidnapping, being beaten up by bullies, nuclear war, what the world
    will be like when he's my age and (hopefully) a father himself.
    If I could have anything, I'd wish for a peaceful world.
    
    

    I'd been stumped on this one, as my mother's far away and, though
    she likes flowers, she's not crazy about them.  But, her mother
    died recently, and I know I have a very nice slide of the both of
    them, from years ago, sitting on their porch having a morning cup
    of coffee.  So, I think I'll try to have that printed and framed 
    for her...  hope I have time!
    
    CQ
    

    The ONLY thing I want is an entire day to really contemplate
    my son and what a wonderful human being he is.  I should do
    this 365 days a year....perhaps one special day will serve
    to remind me the other 364 that I am truely blessed!!
    
    My mom?  A card specially chosen for her-no phone call from
    me as she'll be in Las Vegas gambling her little heart out!
    
    
    {ok, here's a chance to share a story- I was married in Las
     Vegas 10 years ago.  While I was arranging the last minute
     details, my sweet little 64 year old mother took off for
     some last minute gambling...15 minutes before the ceremony,
     she hurried in huffing and puffing...meanwhile, I was fran-
     tic, wondering what COULD have happened to her.  Seems she
     was playing craps and on a winning streak and "they just
     wouldn't let me leave the table while I was winning"!!
     Mothers and priorities!!  sigh }
    
     

    Lorna, if you go to the hospital to see your mother make sure you
    touch her and speak to her. The more I've read about people in this
    condition the more I believe that in some way this comforts them.
    Your note has caused me to really think about my mom and that she's
    70 years old. Someday we'll all be in this or a similar situation
    so we better enjoy our parents while they still live. liesl

    My mother loves to take pictures, but is on a limited income.  I
    plan to get her 5-10 rolls of film with prepaid mailers--or enough
    money to get them developed.
    
    She always resented getting things related to housekeeping for gifts,
    even in the 50's!
    
    Anyone know where I can get high-quality send away film mailers?
    
    

I'll be going down to NJ (from MA) for the weekend to visit my mother.  I
haven't seen her since Thanksgiving for various reasons, and that visit was
cut short by an early labor (not mine :-)).  Visiting her will be the best
present she could want. :-)

Jill

    Parents always appreciate pictures - even of their grown children.
    I've gotten complaints from my parents that the last picture they
    have of me is from my college days.  To that end, I went out to
    Sears and had them do a portrait package of just me - they don't
    just take kids!  Of course, pictures of grandchildren are always
    welcome.
    
    As for prepaid film processing, you can buy prepaid Kodak film mailers
    at just about any photography store.  You can even add the postage,
    send the mailers to your Mom, and she can just drop them in the
    mail.
    
    BTW, I just started seeing some advance ads in magazines for
    Father's Day - lawn tractors, rakes, toolsets, etc.
    
    					Steve

    I am not a typical mother. My kids asked me what I wanted and I
    asked for a lawn spreader, a bag of broad leaf weed killer, or a
    rhodedendron (sp). 
    
    I lost my mother 12 years ago so I miss the pleasure of giving her
    gifts. I usually find a mother somewhere and do something special
    and unexpected for her.  
    
    Mothers day is not just to recognize your mother, but all mothers.
     
    
    HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to all the mothere out there in notes land.

    Does anyone know the origin of Mother's Day and Father's Day?
    
    					Karen.

    I remember a little bit about the origin of mothers day. Perhaps
    if I start off others will fill in the details. Mothers Day was
    the brain child of one dedicated women and I believe that she
    worked much of her life for the goal of a day to honor women
    and succeeded in the 1920's. She lived long enough to see 'her day'
    become comercialized and was very disapointed.
    
    Father's day was pretty much the product of the greeting card
    industry with some social input for equal time - but no one 
    dedicated crusador like Mothers Day.
    
    What ever your feelingabout the way Mother's Day has become, how
    about we all try and remember it was originated by one woman who
    honestly wanted to honor mothers. Let us all honor the spirit of
    the day no matter what we think of what has become of it at the
    hands of the retailers.
    
    Bonnie J

    For my mother I'll probably look for a card with wildflowers on
    it, and add a note from me and drawings from my boys, ages 5 and
    7.  I used to send flowers, but in recent years my mom's garden
    has far surpassed any affordable flowers-by-wire arrangement.
    
    As for me, I've already seen my giggling boys carrying a bag up
    to a secret hiding place in their room.  No doubt something they
    made in school.  When the day comes, I'll probably have to remind
    the space cadets that it's Mother's Day.  But once reminded they 
    will climb all over me with little hugs and kisses.
    
    Now that's the life, isn't it?
    
    					- Dotsie

    I found a card for my mom yesterday, it says...
    
    to my friend...
    
    My mom always askes us to look for her favorite perfume, but we
    can't find it here in colorado, anyone heard of Stratavarious
    (obviously the wrong spelling) made by prince matchabelli,  we
    heard it is discontinued, but some places still have it.  If anyone
    out there finds it somewhere, let me know.  that would be a surprize
    for her.......
    
    I love my mommy......
    
    vivian

    My mother used to like Stradivarius, too, and was mildly annoyed
    when it was discontinued. I have heard that perfumes do not have
    an infinite shelf life, so even if there are some hoarded bottles
    around they may not be any good. Even so, I'd like to find some,
    too - I owe my mother a large-sized bottle, since at age 3 or
    thereabouts I made my way into her room and dumped most of the contents
    of her Stradivarius bottle on my head...
    
    I *think* that somebody made up a copycat line of perfumes, one
    of which was supposedly similar to Stradivarius, but I don't know
    whether the smell-alikes are of good quality or not.
    
    -b

	I have a Mothers' Day complaint: Britain (and I believe most of
        Europe) celebrate Mothers' Day on a completely different day to
        America.
        
        Hence back in March when my Mother didn't receive a Mothers' Day
        card I got a severe tongue lashing when I phoned home...
        
        British card shops (at least some of them) sell Mothers' Day cards
        at the right time for the American celebration. Why can't I get
        cards here for the European celebration? (won't be a problem next
        year, I've just bought next years card :-)
        
        Incidentally on origins: it arose as described earlier in America.
        However Mothers' Day, under the name of Lady Day has been a Church
        of England celebration of Motherhood since the middle ages. (Originally
        in praise of the Virgin Mary, later spread to celebrate all mothers).
        
        /. Ian .\
        
        Who_sent_a_card_for_American_Mothers_Day_to_his_English_Mother.

    	This reply does not relate to the base note.  It's an
    	amusing article concerning mothers and computers.  
    
	Enjoy ...
        
    
    		++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
   
    
           MOTHER'S DAY MEDITATIONS FROM THE COMPUTER ROOM.
   
A friend recently asked me what training it takes to work with
computers.  I gave a brief answer mentioning some college courses, 
some on-the-job training, and a long time in the school of hard knocks.  
But upon reflection, I realize that most of my training in fundamental
computer concepts came from my mother.
   
When I was a baby, mother taught me about input buffering: "Don't try to
stuff all your food in your mouth at once.  Leave it on your plate until
you're ready to eat it, and then take it in one mouthful at a time."
  
She also taught me about processing the entire input buffer before going on
to the next step: "Eat everything on your plate.  Then you can have
dessert."
   
(It will occur to some readers that mother also taught me about output
buffering, but I'd like to keep these meditations G-rated.)
  
When I was about four, mother introduced the concept of sequentially
executed instructions: "We're going to set the table."  (That's
identification of the procedure.)  "First put the table cloth on the table.
Check it to make sure it's straight.  Then put a plate at each place.  Then
put a cup at each place.  Then ..."
  
Later, mother introduced the concept of a procedure call: "We're going to
have dinner.  Please set the table."
  
Still later, when I was about 14, mother would set up tasks for me and use
"job control language" in a note on the refrigerator door: "We're going to 
have dinner at 6:00.  You make it when you get home from school.  The menu
is pinned up on the bulletin board, the meat is in the refrigerator, and
I've put the rest of the food out on the counter.  Set an extra place -
Uncle Jack is coming tonight."
  
Mother demonstrated what it means to multi-process:  She could deal with the
interruptions of four children (those were the real-time, foreground tasks)
while doing the housework (as a background task).
 
Mother used the concept of hierarchical storage for her cooking tools.  The
cooking forks and spoons were hung on hooks right by the stove.  The 
potato slicer and the egg beater, which weren't used for every meal, were
kept in a drawer.  And the big roaster, which she only used once a year to
cook the Thanksgiving turkey, was kept in the storage closet in the basement.
   
Once we had about fourteen people for Thanksgiving dinner, and our kitchen
seemed too small for the job.  That's when mother introduced the concept of
backing store.  She cleared off the ping-pong table in the rec room next to
the kitchen and laid out all her ingredients on one side of the net.  My
sister and I fetched things from the "input" side of the ping-pong table as
mother called for them, carried partially finished dishes to and from 
the "backing store" on the other side of the net, and delivered finished
food to the "output" dining table.
   
This system worked well, until my sister and I collided in the doorway
between the two rooms and we nearly lost the creamed onions.  Mother solved
this problem of "channel contention" by establishing a protocol:  "First
say 'May I come through?' and then wait until you get the answer 'Yes; it's
clear.'"
   
It was also in the kitchen that mother taught me about looping and testing:
"Cook the fudge, while stirring it, and test it every couple of minutes to
see if it's done.  You test it by dropping a bit of it in the cold water.
When it forms a soft ball, it's done."
  
For years I badgered my mother with questions about whether Santa Claus is a
real person or not.  Her answer was always "Well, you asked for the presents
and they came, didn't they?"  I finally understood the full meaning of her
reply when I heard the definition of a virtual device:  "A software or
hardware entity which responds to commands in a manner indistinguishable
from the real device."  Mother was telling me that Santa Claus is a virtual
person (simulated by loving parents) who responds to requests from children
in a manner indistinguishable from the real saint.
  
Mother also taught the IF ... THEN ... ELSE structure:  "If it's snowing,
then put your boots on before you go to school; otherwise just wear your
shoes."
  
Mother explained the difference between batch and transaction processing:
"We'll wash the white clothes when we get enough of them to make a load,
but we'll wash these socks out right now by hand because you'll need them
this afternoon."
  
Mother taught me about linked lists.  Once, for a birthday party, she laid
out a treasure hunt of ten hidden clues, with each clue telling where to find
the next one and the last one leading to the treasure.  She then gave us the
first clue.
  
Mother understood about parity errors.  When she counted socks after doing
the laundry, she expected to find an even number and groaned when only one
sock of a pair emerged from the washing machine.  Later she applied the 
principles of redundancy engineering to this problem by buying our socks 
three identical pairs at a time.  This greatly increased the odds of being
able to come up with at least one matching pair.
  
Mother had all of us children write our Christmas thank you notes to 
Grandmother, one after another, on a single large sheet of paper which was
then mailed in a single envelope with a single stamp.  This was obviously
an instance of blocking records in order to save money by reducing the
number of physical I/O operations.
  
Mother used flags to help her manage the housework.  Whenever she turned on
the stove, she put a potholder on top of her purse to reminder herself to
turn it off again before leaving the house.
  
Mother knew about devices which raise an interrupt signal to be serviced
when they have completed any operation.  She had a whistling teakettle.
  
Mother understood about LIFO ordering.  In my lunch bag she put the dessert
on the bottom, the sandwich in the middle, and the napkin on top so that
things would come out in the right order at lunchtime.
  
There is an old story that God knew He couldn't be physically present
everywhere at once, to show His love for His people, and so He created
mothers.  That is the difference between centralized and distributed
processing.  As any kid who's ever misbehaved at a neighbor's house finds
out, all the mothers in the neighborhood talk to each other.  That's a 
local area network of distributed processors that can't be beat.
   
Happy Mother's Day, Mom.  You were the best computer teacher I ever had.
  
 
 
Kenneth Mayer:					mayerk@eniac.seas.upenn.edu

Spoil Mom, and Dad too

The best gift I ever gave my mom was a $50 dollar gift certificate to a
restaurant she liked.  It lived in the bookcase for months! and one
evening, on the spur of the moment, she took a few friends out to dinner.

And over the next few years, she often mentioned it ... a true index to how 
much she liked it.

An observation:  In the many years I waitressed (estimate, 17,000 customer 
sets), I noticed something funny about my customers and deserts.

   If he ordered a desert, she would usually considered it, then say no.
   If he didn't order desert, she would rarely even consider it

   I bet the ratio per couple is
         100 male ordering deserts  = 5 female ordering deserts   
        1000 male not ordering deserts =  1 female ordering deserts 
    The last few years of waitressing, I was conscious this was happening, 
    and the pattern remained true.

I say, send the folks a big chunky gift certificate to CHEZ EL POSH. 
And ORDER them to have desert.

    Meigs

                          
    .20 was good. Gave me fond memories of my mom...in her honor
    Irene shall have the perfect Mother's day: sleep. I will
    spirit the children away & not return until 5 whereupon I
    will cook the day's feast, tuck the personettes into bed, and
    romance the woman who made this possible!  8^}
    

    My mother hate store bought things, and I  hate mothers day .. so
    for me ... when my mother needs/wants/ would like sometiong during
    the year ... then that's what I'll do.
    Last year, she wanted <someone> to accompany her on  a paid trip
    (to look at a condo deal) to "Trapp Family Lodge, Association" -
    I came through and drove her there, stayed there with her (just
    me), and "touristed" her back home again after the two days (i had
    to take vacation time). She loved it, and I was a hero for at least
    three days thereafter :^) . My  mother is 77, could have driven
    there herself (its only 300 miles away), but preferred to have
    <someone> she knew with her.
    
    If I learn nothing else from my mother, I think I should learn that
    the best things really don't come from stores. They come from the
    heart.
    
    .bob.