Robin's Wee Poems

I was very surprised to learn at the age of 45 that I could actually write some poetry. It's amazing. Of course some will say that they wish I hadn't discovered this skill - but I am delighted. Its a gift to be able to write a little poetry when somebody has done something special - its makes it special for them as well.

I only discovered this talent when I tried to write a little limeric which became "To a CLC Calibrator Manual". Graeme Sindle and I had been working very hard with a company in Holland called BSL (Bright Side of Life). When the project was done, the BSL folks took us for dinner and Graeme had a kangaroo steak. I was amazed when I wrote the poem. I hope you like it.

Robin's Wee Poems

Alan and Jen 

This poem was written for my son Alan and and daughter in law Jen for their wedding on August 6, 2005.





From time to time
It's a duty of mine
To invent a rhyme
So that folks feel fine

Before they were wed
One day Jen to me said
"At the wedding could be read
A poem in church for the guests"

"Ah, ha" said I
"What you mean to say
"Is, can you invent a rhyme
To celebrate Aug 6 - a special time"

"OK, what you want are a few verses
Because over the years I've written some stanzas
For favourite members of the family
Irene, Robert, Veli-Veikko, Ali and a few others"

So it's Jen and Alan's turn today
To be immortalized in this special way
With a few rhyming couplets and verses
No limerics or gimmics - just iambic pentameters

And of course I must give a mention or two
To the Prescotts - Colin and Sue
And Julia and Sarah their lovely daughters too
Nicola the bridesmaid - Thank You

The man of the match of course has to be Alan
Although the best man is Jamie his wee brother
And with their mother Ali - my bride of 31 years
We welcome Jen and give her three cheers

And all the guests from there and here
Scotland, Finland, the States, even Surrey
You've come to share the moment when
We welcome to clanmills our daughter in law Jen

Bruce the vicar has been the man on the spot
When Alan and Jen said words to tie the knot
Without him, they wouldn't have had a clue
When to say the magic words "I do"

So I'll wrap up now by saying
How much to the future forward Ali and I are looking
When grandchildren into our life will loom
Should I believe this day may come quite soon?

So welcome Jen to the family Mills
We wish you and Alan well
Long life, Good health
Happiness, Contentment and Wealth
Please stand and say "Cheers, Keepis, Slangie or "What the hell""

The word "Keepis" is the Finnish equivalent of "Cheers" - its something folk say before drinking. The word "Slangie" is Scots Gaelic for the same thing.

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To Ali 

This poem was written for my wife Ali on the occasion of our Silver Wedding Anniversary which we celebrated on 27 March 1999 in Doyle's Restaurant in Sydney, Australia.


This poem was illustrated
for display in the rest room
at Adobe as part of PPP
(Poet in the Pissoir Project). 		Many bards have written over the years
To express sentiments of love into their lady's ears
"How do I love you. Let me count the ways"
OR "My love is like a red, red rose"
By comparison these verses are only like prose

But my words have the same intent
And to Ali these lines are lovingly penned
Some things have to be said
To the woman for a quarter century to whom I am wed

25 years may seem to some a long time
But to me it is only a start
For the woman to whom I am married
And to whom I have given my heart
A lifetime together isn't enough
To spend with a person when you're in love

It all began with a simple vow
And which I want to reaffirm now
"To have and to hold in sickness and in health
From this day forth
So long as we both shall live"

And so we are here in Sydney
To celebrate our Silver Anniversary
I'd like to propose a toast
To the woman I love the most
"Long life, good health
Happiness, contentment and wealth"
Join by saying "Cheers, Keepis, Slangie or Prost"

The word "Keepis" is the Finnish equivalent of "Cheers" - its something folk say before drinking. The word "Slangie" is Scots Gaelic for the same thing.

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To Andrew 

This was written for my friend Andrew for his 50th Birthday.

Dr Johnson is my friend and a chap fine
His wife Penny's a running buddy of mine
Now Andrew's 50 today
A Half Century they say
And my gift is this limerick and rhyme
 But it's not all wonderful and wealth
Andrew's had a rough ride with his health
Leukemia and bone marrow transfusion
With medical prognosis confusing
Damocle's sword pursues him with stealth
 
Now Andrew's come a long way
Since born to parents Col and Elsie
Friday's child is loving and giving
With brother David he's a twinning
June 4, 58 in Australia - a long way away
  		However Penny helped by running away
26.2 miles at first, then 50 and 100 K
With TNT to raise money
For Cancer Research in California sunny
Lizzie at Napa completed the marathon way
 
The twins grew up and Andrew went to work
At Telstra to cable their network
"This job's a bore
I'll escape to another shore
A PhD in video tech will bring me luck"
  		I'd like to share with you all
Why in love with this family I did fall
All their chums with me will agree
With the Johno's is a great place to be
On vacation in Montana, Dakota or Yosemite
 
Mind you, he'd already had a great break
When beautiful blonde Penny as wife he did take
All over the world they did roam
10 years in California they've made home
With Lizzie, Alice and Angus
    a marvellous family make
  		So pick up your glasses and join me today
In celebrating Andrew's 50th Birthday
"Cheers cobber, she'll be right, G'day"
(Or any other Aussie phrases you can say)
Three cheers for our mate Andrew:
    "Hip Hip Hip - Hooray!"
 
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To Sperry Chalet  

This poem was written for the crew at Sperry Chalet, Glacier National Park, Montana. We visited this place in July 2004. After dinner all the guests are expected to introduce themselves and say something about their visit to the National Park. We stayed for 2 nights - so I wrote this poem after dinner on the first night, and read it the following evening. Very well received. Sperry Chalet is an amazing place - highly recommended. Click here for photographs.


This poem was illustrated
for display in the rest room
at Adobe as part of PPP
(Poet in the Pissoir Project). 		This world is full of amazing locations
Where people go to spend vacations
Disney World in Florida
The Barrier Reef in Australia
Montana's the subject of this naration.

Where is this holdiay paradise?
With accomodation you'll call "a surprise"
It's called Sperry Chalet
And its hidden away
On a mountain with views to dazzle your eyes.

So how did I discover this nirvana
Of Glacier National Park, Montana?
My friends Jim and Sandy Poje
Said "Ali and Robin must go
To visit this place on vacation this summer".

So we got on the train in California
And by Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana
We travelled 1 day and 2 nights
Before we saw the unforgettable sights
Of Marias Pass and the Divide Continental.

Sperry's at the end of a trail
That can make some pople wail
"Are we there yet?"
"It can't be much further!"
At journey's end you hang your pack on a nail.

And there's more surprises for you as well
Your life story to strangers at dinner you tell
Then the rules "Don't feed the animals"
"Don't flush the urinals!"
Guests compete for who has worst smell.

So is this heaven or is this hell?
How to find the answer I can tell
Start walking in Logan Pass
Via Gunshot and the Continental Divide
Heaven or Hell?
At Sperry Chalet YOU can decide.

Now to close let's say a word or two
For our hosts - Kevin and Crew
They work hard all day
For very little pay
Let's hear it folks "Thank You".
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Fun in Finland  

This poem was written for my friend Veli-Veikko Niskanen who lives in Helsinki, Finland. I made friends with VV when we worked together at Jaakko Pöyry. Ali and I have had several holidays in Finland with him. In 1998 we had a great summer holiday with him on his boat in the Baltic. This is a 10 metre motor cuiser. You can find out about his boat club by visiting their web site at: http://at8.abo.fi/pvk

Finland resources - finland related news, books and regional resources.
Finland - Discover Finland

Last year at Christmas, I had a thought
"Lets go for a holiday on Veli-Veikko's boat
A journey from Finland
To the islands of Åland
For a week in the summer we'll be afloat"

So we flew to Helsinki from Heathrow
And drove to Turku - which Swedes call Åbo
The boat is berthed at Parainen pier
Where we loaded our luggage and crates of beer
Then we set sail for the island of Innamo

Steak and red wine for dinner - only the best
The sun set slowly in the North-West
While the sauna got hotter and hotter
The beer disappeared as though it were water
By four o'clock the birdies were awake in their nests

Next day it was wet
And so to sail we did set
A path we carefully picked
Between buoys we called "sticks"
You'd get lost if you couldn't navigate

Apart from a few hours of rain that day
The week's weather was pefect, I'd say
The sun shone from a clear blue sky
On folk just letting the world drift by
The Baltic in Summer is a Paradise of people at play

At this point in my poems, I often like to reflect
About happy times (and others I'd prefer to forget)
But there wasn't time on this trip to think
Because we had duty-free gin & tonic to drink
And only hangovers in the morning to regret

I won't go into any more detail
About every place to which we did sail
Like Lappo, Houtskari and Bomarsund harbour
Where the British fought the Russian chappies
Before getting to Mariehamn - sadly the end of this tale

And so we had to board the plane
Which to England would take us back home
From 10000 metres could clearly be seen
All the places where we had been
And the places we'll visit next time

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X-Rite's all right 

This poem was written for a couple for the folk who work at X-Rite in Congleton, Cheshire. X-Rite make instruments for measuring colours. One day my DTP-22 wouldn't work and I returned it for servicing. A couple of month's later, X-Rite sent me a brand-new instrument.

One day while sitting at my desk
An engineer from the Help Desk came and said
"A customer has problems printing with PhotoShop,
The colours aren't right, can you help?"

"Oh Jings!", I said, "I haven't a clue
But I can measure patches with my DTP-22
If Yxy is measured by you
And put in this file, that will do"

So we printed the patches, and they looked fantastic
We'll be done in a minute, this is going like magic
But the DTP wouldn't click - it must be sick
There's something wrong - whats the matter with it?

No problem, I'll borrow one from Simon
He's away today, I'll return it tomorrow morning
At least it worked but the measurements were duff
So the Help Desk guy departed in a huff

Now, let me see, how can this be
That the DTP works fine in XYZ
But there's a problem, and I can't understand why
I always get the same reading the Yxy!

On this is an unexpected hitch
I'm gonna have to get the DTP fixed
How to do that is quite mind boggling
I know, I'll sent it up North to X-Rite in Congleton

So I called Clare and told her why I was unhappy
"We'll fix it", she said, and put me through to Gillian Caddy
She said "Fax a purchase order and return the unit
If its possible, we'll fix it in a minute"

So I wrote a program to convert XYZ to Yxy data
And when I did so, the colours were better
And the help desk faxed the info to the customer
Who then replied with a "Thank You" letter

Now a week or two went by
I didn't hear from X-Rite - I wonder why?
So I called Gillian and she say "Robin, you'll have to wait
'Cos we've sent your unit to our factory in the States"

Then out of the blue one fine morning in May
A parcel arrived at CSME
I looked at the box "What can this be?"
Gosh, its a brand spanking new X-Rite 22 DTP!

So I quickly got it out of the box
As I plugged it in, this is what I thought
"Will it be good in Yxy?"
And it worked great and I breathed (with relief) a sigh

So Gillian and Clare, I want to say to you now
"You did well, thank you - take a bow"
Please tell your bosses how pleased I am
With the spendid help you have the guy from Canon.
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Robert Boyd 

This poem was written for my brother-in-law Robert Boyd on the occasion of his 50th birthday.

There’s an American in Houston from Prestwick
(A place in Ayrshire, Scotland - not many have heard of it)
He’s 50 today and a long way away
So we’re sending greetings by email for his Birthday

Now let me go back to the start
And explain why he has a special place in our heart
He married my sister - her name is Irene
There’s no doubt of Robert’s life she is the Queen

There was a lad was born in Ayr
Oh! what a day for Sam and Mair!
They gave him the name of Scotia’s most famous son
Robert (not Burns) but Boyd - that’s the one.

The years went by and Robert did well at school
Our lad was smart - nobody’s fool
Prestwick Primary, Ayr Academy, Glasgow University
All said "This boy’s clever - he’ll go far, you’ll see"

And so from Glasgow to Warwick (via Harlow and ITT)
He graduated and fulfilled the prophesy
That Dr Boyd did arise and get his PhD
But Physics was not ultimately his destiny

No! Marketing and business were to be his thing
He did Insulation in Stirling
And Market Research in Stone
Before making Sulphur & Fertilizer his professional home.

(I must at this time mention in verse
About the time he spent in Perth
When he worked as a Caped Crusader and made friends
With Lawrence who tossed cabers for fun at Highland Games.

There was also a spell in Whitley Bay
About which I have very little to say
A bloody cold place on the North Sea
And full of people called Geordie’s.)

The Queen of his heart, Irene played her part
And produced three lovely daughters - Kirsty, Fiona, Morag
The bills high were piling, the credit card straining
When Robert decided:
"Let’s live in the States - there’s a better life there awaiting"

So the Boyds upped, and offed and went west
To Houston, Texas - one of America’s cities best!
Its in the South East, on the Houston River you know
West of Florida - on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico.

And there the Boyds began a new life
In Taylorcrest they found a home nice
But they knew that life would really be better
When they made friends with the McNabs, and Lowell and Ginny Stouder

And the girls went off to Stratford High School
And the American kids thought "we’ll teach these English fools"
Always say "Sure"; Call everyone "Man"
It just isn’t cricket, the language spoken by an American.

And now the Boyds have their own place in Queensbury
It’s only a few years since they left for the States from Yateley
But in the land of the Brave, if you play by the rules
You can have a wonderful life - including a garden pool.

Now Robert’s a successful guy
And I’d like to share with you why
He’s a man who understands his priority
- wife, daughters, friends and family

So we’re sorry we’re not with you today
But these words are what we wish to say
From Robin & Ali, Alan & Jamie in Camberley
"Happy Birthday, Robert - you look GREAT for fifty"
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The Colour Measurement and Control Blues 

This poem was written to say "Thanks" to Steve Westland who is a lecturer at the University of Keele. I attended a course on Colour Science at the University called "Colour Measurement and Control". Helen Disley presented some of the lectures. Jane Rushton was the course administrator.


This poem was illustrated
for display in the rest room
at Adobe as part of PPP
(Poet in the Pissoir Project). 		There was a University lecturer called Westland
A colour physicist (one of the best of them)
What he liked to explain
To anyone who would listen
Was, what a spectrophotometer has to do with metamerism.

Of course strangers thought he was mad
"People who wish to know things like that must be sad"
Was the wisdom which often prevailed
If in the pub to punters he regailed
About how LCH is good, but Lab is bad.

So Stephen thought to himself one day
"There must be crazy people out there who would pay,
To come on a course to learn
About CIE, CMC and neural network training.
How many companies interested in colour can there be?"

So he sat down and designed a course
With powerpoint, about spectra, prisms and rainbows
How things which can make others see red,
In simple black and white terms can be said,
To be a trick of the things on either side of your nose.

Now from Canon came Paul and Robin
(A manager and a specialist in engineering)
"RGB, CMYK, ICC is our game.
Now Stephen can you explain
How can we get the colours right when we are printing?"

"Steady", said Stephen (his colour temperature rising),
"These acronyms are dangerous weapons.
Now put them away
Before I threaten you
With others like JPC, XYZ or even HP!"

So Stephen explained about eyes and sight
Of colours and the work of Edwards and Wright
Of fantastic lands called colour spaces
Hue, Saturation, Tristimulus and Chromacity
So the Canon men came to see the light.

Which leaves us with one thing to do,
(We’ve remembered to watch our Ps and Qs)
Thank Jane for admin, Helen and Steve for the speel
Which made two memorable days at the University of Keele
You taught us that colour is tricky stuff - "Thank You."
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Irene 

This poem was written for my sister Irene on the occasion of her 50th birthday in 1997. I actually wrote this on the day of her birthday.

My sister in Houston is 50 today
So I want to say "Irene, Have a nice day"
We're not together 'cos I havent't the money or time
So my greetings to you will have to be conveyed in a rhyme.

50 years - "Where have the years gone?" I hear you say
Eighteen thousand, two hundered & sixty six days
Six hundred moons have waxed and waned
About some memories of events these lines I have penned

Now life began for Irene in a far away place
In Kilwinning, Ayrshire to be precise
Then brought up in a wee town at the seaside
In beautiful Largs - on the Firth of Clyde

Now Irene grew up with Buddy & Peggy-Sue
Yes even in far off Scotland about these people we knew
By listening to Radio Luxemburg and the BBC
And Elvis B movies at the Viking cinema we could see

Many things have happened during these years
Some to amaze, some to delight, and some to bring tears
The Death of Di and JFK
"The Eagle has Landed in Tranquility Bay"
But Largs Thistle winning the Scottish Cup is the best, I say

Lots of World Leaders have been and gone
Old Ronnie, Margaret T, Chairman Mao & William Clinton
Not many have dropped by to go for a swim
In my sister's pool in Sunny Houston

But all who visit Irene are welcome to come in
"Sit down, relax, can I get you a gin?"
All friends and guests are made to feel like gold
- But you're all here, so you don't need to be told

So from England we wish you well today
Happy Birthday - have a splendid 50th anniversary
With your husband, daughters and family
Best Wishes from the Mills family in Camberley
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Thoughts of Tokyo 

This poem was written following a visit to Tokyo with one of my Japanese colleagues Takashi Tominaga. Takashi and I went to exhibit a product at an exhibition in Tokyo and Takashi acted as guide and interpreter. We had a great time.

One day Ted came to me and said "Hello,
There's going to be an exhibition in Tokyo
We'd like you & Port Manager at the show
Please work with Takashi and make a proposal"

Now what do I need? Let me see
A laptop, PBX, and desktop PC
A GP here, a fax-me there
A Virgin ticket and I'm on my way.

Now when I got to Tokyo town
My head with jet-lag was spinning round
But Takashi had an instant fix
Sight-seeing and Jaccatori eaten with chop sticks.

Next day we went to Canon Inc
An odd name for a Japanese company, don't you think?
On Japan Rail we joined the millions
Who work for the Toshibas, Yamahas and Canons.

Now let me share a secret with you
Strong feet you need in Tokyo
Make sure you have neither a corn or bunyan
Or you'll never survive the trains of Japan.

Now the show itself was a great success
We met executives, CISRA, CRF and CIS
Many came and looked at the Port Manager
And said "Great - that's a winner"

Now what does one eat in the Far East?
Well sushi and tempori are kinds of feasts
Bits of fish & things some say are poison
But taste dead good - I put 6 pounds on!

All good things must end by and by
To Heathrow from Narita it was time to fly
I bought some souveniers - a budha (jananese lacquered)
And after a 13 hour flight, returned home knackered.

So I'd like to sum up my trip in a word or two
By saying "Takashi, without you I hadn't a clue"
You explained where to go, when to bow, and what to do
"Domo arigato gozimusta" in English means "Thank You"
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Duncan Mills 

This poem was written for a dinner at the United Free Church of Scotland, Largs, Ayrshire, Scotland. This dinner was held on 18 April 1997 in honour of my father who retired from all responsibilities in the Church after 40 years of devoted service. The poem was read by me at the dinner and presented in a frame.

In a wee town in Scotland
By the side of the sea
There's a Church in Largs
Known to locals as "The Wee Free"

So pull up a pew
And sing me a hymn
About this church, I'll tell you much
Sit back and relax, pin back your ears
And I'll tell you of one man's service for 43 years!

No - I promise not to detain you so long
And I promise I’ll not sing you a song.
So, I speak of my father - whom I sit beside
His devotion to Church just fills me with pride.
I only ask for a few minutes at most
And at the end could you join me in a toast?

He joined in ’54 as Church Officer to the Congregation
Then on the Board - he helped with the administration
As Treasurer he juggled bills with skill and frustration
Then Session Clerk - he served the Lord in His Mission
For all this effort we give Thanks and Celebration.

He's seen a few Ministers come and go -
Messrs Paterson, Cameron, Spence and Rodgers I know
As well as Young and Allen whom I never met
And all of my Dad, the same thing they have said:
"The Church needs Duncan to make the place tick
- He counts the offering, cleans the hall
- and makes the place span and spick."

Allow me to recall things I haven't forgotten
About the Sunny days of old when Miss Smith played the organ.
Messrs Millar, Tyre and King in the choir used to sing
And the twins in their kilts on Christmas Sunday morning.

Ah....... in those days the rafters we could raise
With packed pews & even extra seats in the aisle.
Sadly the Church hasn't been that full for a while
Brian does his best and worships God with a smile
At least the Church is still here
- and for that we give a cheer.

While others today go off to Sunday shopping
Even football, sailing, skiing and hand gliding!
The United Free still meets in Brisbane Road, Largs
To "Worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness"

I'm afraid I can't mention all Dad's friends by name, alas
- Mrs Cornie, Bill, Maisie and Mrs Douglas
But you know who you are
And I'm pleased with you to be here
To say thanks to Duncan and give him a cheer.

So we meet tonight to give thanks and praise
The words of a hymn let me paraphrase
"He has fought the good fight
The straight race he has run."
A Scout who can say "My Best I have done"
Please raise your glass to one man
Our friend and honoured guest tonight - Duncan.
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Thanks 

This poem was written to say "Thanks" to Kimberley Leng of Complete Connexions in Reading. Kimberley helped my one day by getting a cable made and dispatched very quickly to the office.

There was a Scotsman called Robin
Working for the copier company called Canon
One day came an engineer from Japan
To give a course was his intention
But he didn't have a cable for his demonstration

So Robin went off to his desk
To try to unravel this mess
"In the direction of Reading
I think we should be heading.
There's a company there called 'Complete Connexion'"

So Robin gave Kimberley a bell
And this tale of woe to her he did tell.
"No probs Rob", he heard her say
"We can fix this for you today
Now which SCSI cable to you can I sell?

There was no need to do a sales pitch
The deal was done by which
The cable came by bike
And you know, first time even it was right
And the course continued without a hitch

Now Kimberley, we'll meet again
When Canon need a cable all of a sudden
But I simply haven't the time
To think of any more rhymes
So I'll say "Thank You" one more time.

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Ron Branagan 

This poem was written for an amazing Scouting Friend - Ron Branagan.

There comes a time in the affairs of men
Which only happens now and then
It's time to say "Good-bye" or "See you again"
To the long serving Editor of Surrey Scout - Ron Branagan

He's been at the helm of 73 issues
And I think as well several color reviews
He's printed in purple, browns and blues
But never simple black and white for Surrey Scouting News

Cartoons of course are part of the style
- Always guaranteed to make you smile
That young Beaver who can out-run any leader by miles.
Who is that bearded chap who appears once in a while?

He's had a few bosses - Derek, John and Steve
And all persuaded him to stay "Gosh Ron, please don't leave"
But getting down and begging on their knees
"We need you at Surrey Scout - you do it with ease"

But now he hands over to David Hawkins
How was he persuaded - it must have taken some talkin!
But Ron's still involved with the production
And Doug Bennet continues to do distribution.

So Ron, you're standing down and we all say to you
For keeping us informed of Surrey Scouting News
And to Christine as well - I'm sure she helped too
From all Scouts in Surrey - BRAVO and Thank You.
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To a CLC Calibrator Manual
(with Apologies to Burns) 

This poem was written for Martin and Michelle Simpson of BSL NV, Holland to say "Thank You" for a splendid dinner. Graeme Sindle and I had been working with BSL on the User Manual for CLC Calibrator. When the project was finished, Martin took us out for dinner and Graeme had a kangaroo steak. I wrote the poem the next day to say thanks.

There was an MD called Martin
The lovely Michelle was his wife
A Dutch guy called Walter
And a few other codgers
Working for "The Bright Side of Life"

Now one day along came Canon
Saying "A user manual is our idea
Just write it down quick
And make it sound slick
We'll do the software next year.

"Now testing is an important subject
(No bugs before it can ship)
So to make sure it passes
With the minimum of hassles
We’ll do QA before we write it."

Now Walter who never says "No"
Tackled the job from the word "Go"
Then along came a Scotsman called Robin
Who had formed the silly notion
"On Chapter 7 we must really go slow"

So Walter slaved away
Over a hot Mac for many a day
And in the end
it drove him round the bend
(He's crazy now, they say.)

Then Martin had a new thought.
"A different strategy must be sought
if the manual's to go to press
and finish this Canon mess.
By cunning they will be fought"

So Martin bought Graeme a Kangaroo
Some wine and a cognac or two
Then showed him the draft
Graeme signed and said "it's passed,
And we'll give you work in the future to do"

This story ends without tears
(Although the project took one and a half years)
Best plans of men oft gang a-glee
To Walter, Martin, Michelle (all three)
Canon say "Thank Ye, Thank Ye, Thank Ye"
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The Ballad of Adobe and Canon 

This poem was written for for Mike Clarke at Adobe Systems to say "thanks" for a seminar which Adobe provided in the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel in Decmeber 1996.


This poem was illustrated
for display in the rest room
at Adobe as part of PPP
(Poet in the Pissoir Project). 		There was a director at Adobe called Clarke
Who sat at his desk one day and thought
"We’d like people to write extensions
Using a mechanism known as plugins
For our viewer program called Acrobat.

"Now, I really want to do this thing well.
A three day course for people like Agfa, Canon and Hell
Diane Eckoff can give an overview on the first day
- not too deep - explain the strategy.
To deliver the details we’ll invite Dave Hackel

"Now where can I hold such a show?
Somewhere famous which everybody knows!
The Hilton I feel
Will give us a good deal.
Its the perfect place for such a course."

So on to the Amsterdam Hilton
Man, you know it ain’t easy.
I can make up a rhyme
Most of the time
But these lines were written by John Lennon

Now John was a songwriter (with words he would grapple)
A man with vision - he founded Apple!
I think the future he was able to see
And knew there would come a company called Adobe
Why else did he sing "I wanna be a PDF Writer"?

"Imagine there’s no PostScript
Its a nightmare if you try
Only bitmaps below us
Above us PCL5

"Imagine all the printers ...... ad nauseum..."

So Mike, I’d like to say a big "Thank You"
To you and the others at Adobe too.
"Dave, Diane, Tobias, Iris, Donna and Martin
Well done guys - a good show at the Hilton.
I look forward to seeing you at the next one."
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The Diet 

This poem was written for the invitation to a party to celebrate the successful outcome of my diet in 2002. To learn more about the diet click here


This poem was illustrated
for display in the rest room
at Adobe as part of PPP
(Poet in the Pissoir Project). 		Robin thought at ninety and one kilo
"Man, I'm heavy, this weight'll have to go"
So he formed a plan
And told every woman and man
"You'll see a new guy in nine months or so"

He joined Team-in-Training to walk
And lots of money for others was sought
To motivate him to lose pounds
Along the streets of San Jose he did bound
Until his weight down to 154 pounds he had fought

But the job didn't take months or years
No - 50 pounds in 13 weeks disappeared!
The more miles he walked
The quicker the weight dropped
His blisters almost drove him to tears

So now its time to say "Thank You"
To all the folk who encouraged me to
Helps others, and loose weight
Look better, and feel GREAT
Domo arigato, tak, danke, merci beaucoup.
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Last Modified: Wednesday June 4, 2008