The first (and last) time I made an appearance at Dr. Dobb's World Headquarters wearing a proper suit and tie was the day Peter Hutchinson, Laird Foshay, and Bill Howard interviewed me for the job of Dr. Dobb's Journal Editor in Chief. Peter was publisher of DDJ, Laird president of M&T Publishing (then owner of DDJ), and Bill vice president of publishing. As I eventually discovered, Peter and Laird gave me the thumbs up, but Bill was reticent — considering my checkered resume, he didn't think I'd stick around. Holy Moses, was he wrong!
Twenty-plus years later, I'm still hanging around Dr. Dobb's, although more recently, at whatever Starbucks is handy (like the one I'm at right now) rather than a real office.
As you've probably guessed by now, all this leads up to the simple fact that my tenure at Dr. Dobb's has come to an end. Not that I'm ready to leave, but circumstances have forced the issue — I've been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and am unable to do the job that needs to be done. For the time being, I'm doing fine, or as well as can be expected at Stage 2 Parkinson's. In addition to lots of walking (okay, to Starbucks), I spend my time in physical therapy of one kind or another. The tough part? Having to sell my motor scooters. Now that hurts.
Twenty-plus years is a long time at any job, but I can honestly say that I've enjoyed every minute at DDJ. Okay, meetings suck, but then I stopped going to them years ago. The best part of the job? Getting to know the readers, writers, and editors who have contributed over years, making Dr. Dobb's Journal a unique and wonderful platform for the community of programmers worldwide. I won't even try to give thanks to everyone who has participated — you know who you are. Okay, I'll make one exception: For the past few years, Deirdre Blake has been my partner in publishing. Couldn't have done it without her.
All this aside, I'm happy that Dr. Dobb's is in the strong and capable hands of my good friend Andrew Binstock. As you get to know Andrew, you'll appreciate his experience, vision, and knowledge of the software development landscape. And when he strays, don't forget that Deirdre will be there to keep him in line.
In closing, thanks to everyone of you for making it possible for me to have had a wonderful experience. So long good friends, keep in touch.
— Jonathan Erickson, Dr. Dobb's Editor in Chief Emeritus
jon.erickson26@gmail.com
