I write about a lot of stuff on this blog. Mostly, I write about whatever interests me; but clearly, I'm also writing about stuff that's related to my work: UML, Tablet PCs, .NET, and so on. I've had plenty of posts on each of those topics. I've also written on comic books, Persian food, travel, and lots of other topics. And I've written a post or two about Hurrican Katrina relief.

But looking over my referral logs, I find that I could've gotten almost the same traffic with just one post. Depending on the day, anywhere from 13% to up to 20% of recent visitors have come via search engines or Web sites that lead to this post on Borders Rewards vs. the Barnes & Noble Member Program.

I never would've guessed that this would be such a hot topic. I wrote that post just because I was frustrated; and now it's my ninth most-requested page. Too weird...

As an author, it's always nice when someone says they enjoyed your book.

Nice? Heck, it's incredible.

But last night at CMAP, Dr. Osama A. Morad, Ph.D. gave me a compliment I will not soon forget. Upon meeting me, the first thing he said was, "Hello, Martin. I read your book. How's Sandy?" And then he told me how much he appreciated the dedication to my book, reproduced here:

To Dad, for teaching me how to work.
To Mother, for teaching me how to think.
To Sandy, for teaching me how to be me.

I can't speak for other authors, but I worked hard on that dedication, to get it to say exactly what I wanted to say about the three biggest influences in my life. For Dr. Morad to recognize that was really special, and is the nicest of the many nice things that readers have said to me. (He also asked some other good questions about the book, proving that he did indeed get farther than the dedication.)

Sandy's not in my book (computers don't need feeding or walking or grooming, so they don't interest her); but like everything I do, Sandy's all throughout my book. I'm the person I am because she helped me to open up to the world on a personal level. Before I met her, I was a geek. Because I got to know her, I'm a geek who knows how to relate to people and reach out to them and communicate with them a lot better. Growing up, I was an introvert by nature. I still have a self-image of an introvert; but I also know that self-image is inaccurate, because my whole job now is about standing up in front of students and conference attendees and trying to share ideas with them. And an awful lot of that I learned through interacting with her. Sandy is comfortable in many different social situations and groups; and because she drew me into them with her, I became more at ease with them.

That's just one of the many ways Sandy makes me feel somehow more me (if that makes any sense), but it's the one that's most relevant to the book and to my teaching and speaking.

And there's one other way in which Sandy was key to the book: my sample project for the book (and for my UML classes) is an information management system for a high-end pet kennel. Everything I know about pet kennel management comes from Sandy's years in that business.

So I really have to thank Dr. Morad for the kind words, and the chance to acknowledge a little more fully Sandy's role in creating the book.