I’d like to begin by expressing my gratitude the program committee for this opportunity to present this work here in Scotland, in my native United Kingdom. You might not immediately guess, given my spot-on Chicago accent, that I am indeed a native of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the latter part thereof, to be specific. I left, together with my mother, another native of Northern Ireland, and my father, a native of Chicago, Illinois, when I was about three months old. I’ve lived in Illinois ever since. My fathers folk’s left the UK during the nineteenth century having heard (correctly) that potatoes were more abundant in the United States than in Ireland at the time. Ethnically, we’re all purebred Irish(men).

It may seem peculiar / somewhat indulgent / that I’m bothering to mention this, but, patience, my reason for doing so will become evident as my talk progresses.

(It has been 21 years since I’ve set foot on Great Britain, alas).

I’ve had the privilege of working with two native speakers of the language on this paper. The gentlemen whose visages grace the edges of this slide (and who would appear to have the same barber) are my co-authors, Ralph Johnson, and James Noble. Ralph, a native of the Panama Canal Zone, is now perhaps best  known for work on Design Patterns and Refactoring. His longstanding, staunch Smalltalk advocacy, and long-time interest in frameworks, reflection and metalevel architectures are all on display here.

James Noble, alas, is at home, about as far away as a person can get from here w/o getting wet right now. I wouldn’t be here without James’s contributions to this enterprise. His command of the language, and of the literature, have been simply indispensable.

Both send their regrets, and regards.