test post, and an update while I'm here

[Sukant Hajra]

This a second post to test integration of Google Groups with Gmane. But while
I'm at it, I thought I'd take a chance to explicitly acknowledge what many of
you probably have inferred.

This group has been kind of quiet for the last couple of years. This has been
largely due to a drop-off in my involvement with not just ASM, but a lot of
other community involvement.

I've been focusing almost entirely on advancing my technical skills, and that's
kind of paid off for me. I've got a new job writing some code that I'm pretty
proud of. Starting very soon, I'll reengage the community, started with a
Scala meetup group.

However, that won't leave me with much time for ASM. I still believe ASM is an
important initiative, and I wish it to be sustained. A few of the students who
benefited the most from ASM have now graduated and begun their careers. A few
of them are still in town (I know of Michael, Lane, and Faraaz).

If anyone wants to rekindle ASM, just post to the list. I'm happy to help, but
I just can't take on as much of the administrative responsibilities as I had
before.

Also, thanks to everyone who participated in ASM when it was active. I hope I
shows some people a thing or two; I definitely learned a lot myself.

-Sukant