Two Kinds of People

I spent a lot of time over the past few days re-installing operating systems and virus scanning my several household computers. This experience reminded me of two kinds of people:

There is a saying, "Mean people suck!" This is the type of person who writes computer viruses. I mean, I am a software developer and I like coding challenges, but I don't have the malicious streak that it takes to release a virus. So here's a giant raspberry for computer virus authors. pbtbtbtbtbt!

Then there are the folks who write free software. As I put the pieces of my system back together, I was gratified at how easy it was, largely because of the availability of free software that works. Software like Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird and Cygwin. I don't share Richard Stallman's philosophy that all software MUST be free. But I am grateful for free software, much as a farmer is when his neighbors come over and help him raise a barn. So I tip my hat to the many authors of free software Tip! That's right neighborly of ya!

I will be giving back to the community by being a team coach for next year's RoboFest. More on that later.