The Linux Extremist

There are many days which make me thank God I’m alive and in England; today is one of them. I just checked the weather for New York; today it’s going to reach the burning heights of of 34 degrees Celcius (93 degrees Fahrenheit). In contrast, it’s 24 degrees Celcius here in West Sussex (75 degrees Fahrenheit).

This August is an anniversary of sorts for me. 15 years ago in New York City, I had my first exposure to major technology operations at a Wall Street bank. The recorded temperature today fills me with nostalgia; city was just as hot then as it is now. Back then, all of Manhattan seemed to pulse with the Lovin’ Spoonful song, “Summer in the City” -

Hot town, summer in the city
Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty
Been down, isn’t it a pity
Doesn’t seem to be a shadow in the city

The song applied to the feverish work as well as the weather; I was there during a large systems migration and I had to work on auditing the data. I also was required to do IT support; this was made difficult by one of our external consultants insisting on using a Macintosh when everyone else was using PCs. I was exhausted and burned out after a month of this, and a chorus was rattling in my mind:

All around, people looking half dead
Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head

I learned some important lessons though; I was working nights and weekends because the data migration hadn’t been carefully planned. Manually audited data had to go through several checks to ensure consistency; we had real issues flowing the data into the new database because of this, and again, checks had to be done at every stage. The relationship between planning and the costs making up for the lack thereof was firmly established in my mind by this experience. Furthermore, our problems were complicated by using a proprietary provider, Digital Equipment Corporation. This summer bred in me a dislike for waste and proprietary solutions of any kind.

The only break I had from the ennui and stress was to go to Yankee Stadium some nights and hope the the baseball game would distract from the heat, which was so bad it felt like I was being steamed in my own juices. I’d drink a giant cola, watch the match, and then head back via subway and train to where I was staying.

I remember vividly the impressions of the City at night which I gathered en route. I recall seeing the bright neon lights, and the bustling people: some blokes were in shirt sleeves and loosened ties, some women were clad in tight summer outfits and some dapper fellows were dressed to the nines to go to the theatre. The city still throbbed with the same song, just a later verse:

But at night it’s a different world
Go out and find a girl
Come-on come-on and dance all night
Despite the heat it’ll be alright

And babe, don’t you know it’s a pity
That the days can’t be like the nights
In the summer, in the city
In the summer, in the city

After Yankees games, I’d go back to my unmade bed, collapse in a heap at around midnight, and awaken at 5 AM the next morning to repeat the cycle. The brutal orange and gray sunrises over New York, indicative of yet another burning day, would come and I would be get up with the same tune in my head; the song had become tedious in repetition but unavoidable given its appropriateness.

We did finish the project, and by a happy coincidence, on the same night there was a rainstorm. I was walking back to my place, and the skies opened up; rather than run for cover, I enjoyed it. Rain was the only thing that dissipated the heat; even at night sultry waves of warmth radiated up through the ground, asphalt still melted and stuck to one’s shoes. But when the rain came, the city seemed to relax. It was not dancing all night for once; it was a point where “Summer in the City” seemed to stop and hint that autumn was coming.

I am glad that I am here now; West Sussex is the final destination after a life and career that have had many stops along the way. The great sizzling behemoth of New York City was an unforgettable point of departure. The weather forecast for the City suggests that there are more hot days to come this week; there is no sign of rain for the next 5 days. I hope they’re wrong, and that the remaining days are like the nights in the summer in the city.

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