Re: 22 years, and about a quarter century of Perl

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Re^2: 22 years, and about a quarter century of Perl by eyepopslikeamosquito (Archbishop) on Dec 19, 2023 at 06:02 UTC
helgi, given you're from Reykjavik, Iceland I have to ask (as a bit of a chess tragic :) Were you around at the time of the Match of the Century in Reykjavik? Have you visited the Bobby Fischer Center in Selfoss? ... or Bobby Fischer's grave in Laugardćlir? Other tips for cool (non-chess) tourist sites to visit while in Iceland? 👁️🍾👍🦟	[reply]
Re^3: 22 years, and about a quarter century of Perl by helgi (Hermit) on Dec 19, 2023 at 13:21 UTC
Yes, I was 10 and an avid chess player in 1972 when we hosted the Match of the Century. But it gets better. My uncle Sćmundur Pálsson (my father's identical twin) was Fischer's best friend and "bodyguard" during the match and travelled with him for a few months afterwards. After the match was over, Fischer came to my home for dinner, on my 10th birthday. I, and my brother and sister, each played a couple of games with him, which I have to admit, he won handily. He was a weird guy and got on better with us kids than with the grownups. There are photos floating around the internet from him playing with us kids (wearing pyjamas). Facebook photo Left to right: My brother Páll, Bobby Fischer, my cousin Ásgeir, uncle Sćmi, me, sister Iđunn. At the time, the local kids would play chess in the local library and I was probably around 3rd best there. However, during and after the Fischer-Spassky match, there was an explosion in the popularity of chess and several kids in the neighbourhood turned out to have (a lot) more talent for chess than I had. I was quickly relegated to the mid-ranks of the library chess group and never recovered my previous standing. Two of the library players, Jón L. Árnason and Margeir Pétursson, went on to become grand masters. In 2004, Fischer was arrested in Japan. The Icelandic government petitioned for his release and in 2005 my uncle Sćmi went to Japan to pick him up. He lived here in Iceland until his death in 2008. He was even stranger than when he was younger. My father and Sćmi helped him out a lot and did him all sorts of favours, sorting out his life and affairs. He came to our home a couple of times, including my father and uncle's 70th birthday. He was very difficult to talk to, very anti-semitic and full of conspiracy theories and all sorts of nonsense. No, I haven't been to see the museum or the grave. I'm not really into memorabilia. It's a little hard for a local to recommend sites that tourists will like. But most of the usual ones are pretty good but tend to be crowded, especially the really accessible sites in the south of the country. -- Regards, Helgi Briem hbriem AT gmail DOT com	[reply]
Re^4: 22 years, and about a quarter century of Perl by bliako (Abbot) on Dec 19, 2023 at 16:36 UTC
thank you helgi for sharing this story! and thanks to eyepopslikeamosquito for asking.	[reply]
Re^4: 22 years, and about a quarter century of Perl by eyepopslikeamosquito (Archbishop) on Dec 19, 2023 at 23:26 UTC
Wow, what an amazing experience! Thanks for sharing. 👁️🍾👍🦟	[reply]
Re^2: 22 years, and about a quarter century of Perl by talexb (Chancellor) on Dec 19, 2023 at 17:21 UTC
Yes, I know the cool kids all use Python these days, but I'm much quicker doing things in Perl. Yup -- the cool kids are gonna use whatever they use -- I'm content with the last technical choice I made in languages. I'me very happy with the language, and thrilled to be part of this excellent community. Such an odd, wonderful group. :) Alex / talexb / Toronto Thanks PJ. We owe you so much. Groklaw -- RIP -- 2003 to 2013.	[reply]
Re^2: 22 years, and about a quarter century of Perl by eyepopslikeamosquito (Archbishop) on Dec 18, 2023 at 22:29 UTC
I'm back in bioinformatics and using Perl every day. Yes, I know the cool kids all use Python these days, but I'm much quicker doing things in Perl. Good to know - I've added you to my list of Perl Monks interested in science (which also discusses programming language adoption). 👁️🍾👍🦟	[reply]