October 06, 2010
Farewell, Mikey
When I was a kid, I had this neighbor. He was born six days after me. We played together non-stop for about 16 years. We fished, caught snakes and turtles, played army in the woods, shot BB guns at cans and birds. It was a bit of an ideal upbringing.
We drifted apart a bit in high school. I discovered these computer things and the Internet, and spent my nights playing MUDs, programming in Pascal, and sysopping my BBS. He got into women, whiskey, fishing, and rifles (maybe not in that order). These things happen, I guess.
Two weeks ago, I learned that he died rather suddenly while fishing in Glacier National Park. I knew that he lived up there for several years. I had always meant to call and get a beer with him, but just never got around to it. Now that will never happen.
I'm pretty bummed, to say the least. Mikey was my oldest friend and I think that we knew each other in the way that only childhood friends could. I knew that he loved eating dirt, he knew that I was deathly afraid of snakes.
Mikey made quite a life for himself in Glacier. He had hundreds of friends -- probably everyone in the area of his sparsely populated Hungry Horse knew him and made it to his memorial service. His life was a but unconventional which makes it all the more interesting. He was the "travelling sous chef" for about every restaurant in Glacier. He was unmarried, had a cute-as-hell kid with his long-time girlfriend, and spent every non-work hour rousing rabble, fishing, or hunting. It's kind of what I expected, and it makes me smile now to know that Mikey was out there and hopeful that someone will fill his shoes some day. I only wish that those shoes did not need filling so soon...
So here's to my old friend Mikey, and to better times ahead.
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Further back...
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Previous Trips...
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Hiking Mount Whitney, 2007 
Spring Break in West Virginia, 2005
New Year's in Paris, 2003-2004
Coming to America, 2003
Protesting in Berlin, 2003
Prague Bier-Tour, 2002
Dresden, 2002
Recent Reading
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Stealing the Network
I first bumped into the Stealing the Network series when reading the exploits of Joe Grand, one of the book's many hacker authors.
The 'Stealing the ...' series of books follows a rather disparate group of computer hackers as they help a former NSA spook (many of them unwittingly) gather the money he needs to retire.
The stories themselves are not fantastic fiction. The writing is uneven and choppy, the characters are stereotypical and not very well thought-out. What is fascinating about this book series is the technical accuracy of the exploits (at some points *too* accurate, with screen shots and step-by-step instructions).
It's a great series to read if you're a system administrator, or just getting into the wonderful field of computer security.
Rated 
by reid
on March 06, 2011
by reid
on March 06, 2011
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Close to the Machine
Ellen Ullman is one of those authors that somehow avoided my radar. Until now...
Close to the Machine is less a book than a collection of loosely related personal anecdotes from Ellen's time as a very rare thing -- a successful female bisexual independent computer programming consultant.
In the course of her work and relationship life, she learns hard lessons about programming, running a business, being lonely, and loving the wrong people. I found it particularly poignant being a crypto-nerd with difficult times in relationships and a more-or-less NDA'd, secret work life.
This book is a must-read for anyone into running their own business, programming, or anyone dating a person that is a business-a-holic or programmer.
Rated 
by reid
on November 23, 2009
by reid
on November 23, 2009
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The Long Trip Home
I had the joy of dining with the author in Florida. We went to a little Brazilian BBQ where he spoke with our waitstaff in (what I can only assume was) flawless Portugese.
Brian Wyllie spent 1969-1971 living in Brazil working for the Peace Corps. His recent book outlines his trip back to the United States via Bolivia, Peru, and the Carribean chain, by way of bus, train, and sailboat. The format comes spattered with observations from the modern day, and makes me think, "this must be what John McPhee's journal looks like."
The trip sounded like a fantastic one, but I was left wanting more detail...where did the gun (being snuck through customs in a variety of places, no doubt) come from? And how did Geneve's hair smell? Alas, we'll have to wait for another book to find the answers.
Rated by reid
on April 16, 2009
by reid
on April 16, 2009
After reading this, I had to go up to the BrauHaus and have drink. I am proud of you, for writing so eloquently of Mike.
Love from your Dad
Posted by: on October 14, 2010 04:48 PM