Date: Sat, 25 Feb 2006 11:36:34 -0600 From: Kevin Kinsey <kdk@daleco.biz> To: Bill Schoolcraft <bill@wiliweld.com> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: 10 years of "The Complete FreeBSD" (5150) Message-ID: <440095A2.7030205@daleco.biz> In-Reply-To: <Pine.LNX.4.61.0602241504520.10773@liam.billschoolcraft.com> References: <20060224010027.GF65002@wantadilla.lemis.com> <f2c91f770602232044s41476556ke6678759c6603204@mail.gmail.com> <20060224062029.GJ49368@wantadilla.lemis.com> <20060224121059.GC1411@flame.pc> <Pine.LNX.4.61.0602241504520.10773@liam.billschoolcraft.com>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
Bill Schoolcraft wrote: >Greg, > >I want to thank you for you help in making FreeBSD what it is today. > >I first met Greg on a fluke and a weird one that that too. > >While working in techsupport at Linuxcare, and the only one to my >knowledge doing so running FreeBSD, I was sitting there one day and >this fellow comes in, scans the room and makes a bee-line to my work >area. I at the time was the only techsupport with my personal >library of Unix/Linux tech books. Having just left the Machinist >Union for the 'dot-com' I was alway one for self help. > >This guy, with the scraggly beard reaches over me, grabs the first >FreeBSD book written by Greg Lehey and opens it. > >At that time in San Francisco we were having alot of homeless people >getting into the office building and sometimes wandering the halls >on drugs, drunk or whatever. > >When I asked him "Hey..., can I help you?" He said, "I wrote this >book!" > >At that time I was sure he was "5150" (the penal code for being >nuts) and I was about to get up and escort him out when one of my >co-workers, knowing my background as an ex-steelworker at the San >Francisco waterfront "quickly" jumped in and introduced "Greg Lehey" >to me, I then realized it was not a joke, Greg was not a homeless >person, and I've felt honored ever since to have been a co-worker of >his, briefly sharing the same domain name in our work's email >address. > >A few weeks later Richard Stallman came through the office... I >had the exact same inkling this time but jumped up pre-emptively and >again my co-worker came to the rescue. > >I could write a book of the stuff that I've experienced, maybe call >it "From the Shipyards to Silicon Valley" or something.... > >The one thing I've learned (besides FreeBSD kicks ass) is that in >this industry you can NEVER, EVER judge a book by it's cover! > > Fine story; and demonstrates a point: something to the effect of, "Free software is *real* software, made for use by people, *real* people, by people, *real* people, who at least have the courage to care about **something** and want to make the world a better place with the skills they have." So, kudos to Grog for this move, and for his advocacy, authorship, coding, community participation ... and whatever else; I'm sure there's been lots of stuff (and also that you can probably read about lots of it in his diary). And to the rest of the hackers. It's said that "you can't get something for nothing", but, in the case of FreeBSD, we've almost proved that the saying isn't true - at least for those willing to not judge an OS by its "cover" .... Kevin Kinsey -- I never expected to see the day when girls would get sunburned in the places they do today. -- Will Rogers
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?440095A2.7030205>