It was July 1997. A quarter of a century ago.
The slides were printed on transparent sheets and projected onto a white cloth with an overhead projector, now a vintage object that few know or remember.
I had assembled on my own a couple of years before the computer I used to write the dissertation to save money for the holidays.
The 15-inch CRT monitor occupied almost half the desk. The PC was struggling a bit after replacing Windows 3.11 with Windows 95, but when I ran my codes written in Fortran it was almost faster than the UNIX workstations I used in the then "Institute of Machines and Energy".
It seems like yesterday to me, but I realize that this is not the case: I have gained quite a few pounds, my hair has turned white and I have to use my glasses to see close up.
After the milestone of 50 years you begin to reflect on what has been and what you want for the years you have left to live. If I could go back into the past, I don't know if I would do everything I did again. I certainly didn't get bored, but perhaps, as I get older, slowing down a bit isn't really a bad idea.
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