Tobin Cormac Gaffikin Cantrill | The Observation Deck

As you might infer from the photo, I've been a little busy of late: I've been at home for the past two and a half weeks with my newborn son, Tobin Cormac Gaffikin Cantrill. Tobin was born on September 9th at 8:59am, weighing in at 8 pounds 11.5 ounces. (He's shown here having his first bath.) Having a baby is a humbling experience for anyone, but it's especially so when you've spent most of your life dealing with complex man-made systems: it boggles the mind that a system so incredibly intricate could ever work at all, let alone so reliably. One is humbled not just for oneself, but for all of humanity. (Or, if you're me, you just become even more offended by the hubris of strong artificial intelligence: Tobin accomplished more in his first thirty minutes of life than AI has accomplished in 45 years -- and he's certainly a hell of a lot cuter than your average AI lab rat.)

I'll be returning to work on Monday, October 4th, so look for an update on the world of DTrace sometime next week...