For Ada Lovelace Day
A while back I joined a pledge to write about a woman in technology that I respect on March 24, 2009.
The occasion is Ada Lovelace Day. In the time since I pledged, my life changed dramatically. Originally, I would have posted about some cool women I've recently learned of, such as Christine Peterson (credited with coining the term "Open Source"!) or Drupal powerhouses such as Emma Jane, Angie Byron or Addison Berry.
Instead, however, I'm going to use this as an opportunity to honor someone very dear to me who was, sadly, lost to this world prematurely due to a reckless driver.
First, a little about "Ada Lovelace Day" and the purpose of this blog post:
http://findingada.com/ http://twitter.com/FindingAda http://groups.yahoo.com/group/findingada
Quoting from Suw Charman-Anderson: Who was Ada?
Ada Lovelace was one of the world's first computer programmers, and one of the first people to see computers as more than just a machine for doing sums. She wrote programmes for Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine, a general-purpose computing machine, despite the fact that it was never built. She also wrote the very first description of a computer and of software.
Suw Charman-Anderson chose to ask the social networking world to blog about a woman in technology on this day, March 24, 2009. Resulting posts can be found in a mash-up here:
MY CONTRIBUTION: Charlene Sun 1974-2009
Charlene was a remarkable person with many talents, and she inspired numerous people. Her passion was cinematography, but she also had a significant impact in the world of digital art and fan art. Her talents as a digital artist left many dumbfounded. More importantly, she generously spent time online on forums both of her own creation (she was the founder and moderator of hakubaikou.com, among others) and others (such as deviant art) mentoring other digital artists.
Charlene was also a web designer and enjoyed creating visually rich and beautiful user experiences. Together, she and I created over 50 websites as SunRain Productions.
Charlene was truly defined by her generosity and her integrity. For her, technology was another tool towards making the environment around all of us a more beautiful, intelligent and textured place. She learned what she needed to accomplish her goals, helped where ever she could, and created beautiful work, but was always humble through every step.
She is a role model for all of us. I am proud to have this opportunity to blog about Charlene in an arena where she will be noticed with so many other remarkable women.
With love,
Rain
