Analog Sentimentality

Writing an engineering book is not all about technicality on the subject matter. Sometimes, a little sentiment can come in handy to give an otherwise intellectually stimulating topic an emotional dimension. Readers may not know it yet, but I think it's about time I reveal the person I'm dedicating Deciphering Schematics to——my mother.

Neighbors knew her as a dedicated homemaker, but she is more than that (at least to me). All her life (she's nearly 80) she abides by the principle of integrity, despite a hard life in her early to middle years. In fact, some relatives took advantage of this and swindled all her limited dowry, leaving only a pair of bangles which she passed to my wife on our wedding. But instead of being bitter, she became stronger in her character and conviction. And I'm proud to say that she has taught me well by her own example.

So here it is:

To my mother——a woman who, despite her lowly education, taught me the value of integrity that shaped my character and attitude. This book is dedicated to her for showing me how to decipher the myriad of choices in life and to discover my true passion in the world of electronics.

Sometime back, the Philips CD Sound Machine I bought her stopped working. I took it back to see if it could be fixed, then realized that some electronic parts have died. But I did not throw it away and get her a new one because it has sentimental values. After some thought, I decided it would be a good idea to immortalize this sentimentality by including it as an extra teaching material in my book.

Here is a two-page sample:

Things don't last forever, but memories do, at least for a lifetime.