A Short Dedication

This isn't directly relevant to most of you on this board, but considering we've posted on everything from restaurants, sex and TV shows to God and politics... today, I just wanted to reflect a little bit on the people in our lives. This matters most to me and Prometheus I think, but a teacher and a friend of ours passed away this week-- an incredible professor and one of the greatest persons you could ever really know. She was brilliant (and I find myself hating the word "was" all of a sudden) with a huge heart and a wonderful personality. Despite a full course load, acting as head of the department and conducting research in cryptology, there was never a time she wasn't there for you-- to talk to you about everything from math theory and algorithms to life and family. You'd hear her laugh in the morning when you got your coffee for that 9:30 class, and it'd make you smile because you'd just think "hey, this might actually be a good day." (If you ever heard this laugh, trust me, you'd understand-- it was always heart-felt, genuine and loud-- really really loud.) And despite never emailing her, losing touch for three years, feeling horrible because she fell ill and you never even knew, you realize you miss her because she had an impact on your life that you'll never be able to measure. Reading her obituary, it didn't seem right that it couldn't talk more to the person she was than the things she had done. Anyway, this isn't a post on religion or ethics, metaphysics or the a priori -- it's really just to make one small contribution towards recognizing someone who deserves better.