mdwatts - Mike Watts has passed away - Page 10


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Thread: mdwatts - Mike Watts has passed away

  1. #136
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Posts
    135
    My condolences, I always loved reading his replies to threads.
    He will be missed.
    Debian Sid - Waimea

  2. #137
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Posts
    208

    Sorry and Thanks

    I am sorry hear to had to pass in such a hard way, but I hope his family and friends do know he will be missed!!!! Thanks again for everything and all your help!

    -Adam
    ***I have a lot of computers...currently at TEN, and I am trying to setup a cluster. ALL HELP IS WELCOME!

    ***I work for a large Corporation supporting an AS400 and roughly 300 UNIX boxes...

    **Registered Linux User: #371879

    IRC: StylusEater

  3. #138
    Join Date
    Jul 2001
    Location
    Austin, Texas
    Posts
    607
    Good ol' Mike... you shall be missed.
    McManus
    usrg@mail.utexas.edu

    Registered Linux user # 267375 @ counter.li.org

  4. #139
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Binghamton NY
    Posts
    2,435
    I know he answered my questions a few times, but I hardly knew him. Even so, it would be wrong for me not to pay my respects, and to express my gratitude. I believe that he was a major contributer to this project, formerly known as linuxnewbie.org, and this project has been a major contibutor to my well-being.

    Two years ago I lost my job and went into something of a depressive tailspin. Learning Linux is the most constructive thing that I did with that time, and that has helped me to recover. There was a time in the past two years when i came close to taking my own life. If Linux hadn't saved me, maybe something else would have. But it was Linux.

    I was not and am not a quick study. My signature, FRTM, is not entirely a joke. The same clinical mental condition that makes it difficult for me to hold down a job also makes it difficult to read a computer manual, or even a man page. In the beginning, it was all about the politics, and not much else. I spent hours writing passionate anti-microsoft manifestos and posting them in /dev/random, and it didn't matter that I was using Windows 98 to do it. When I finally got Mandrake installed, I couldn't get it online, so every time I needed to use the internet, I would install Windows, and then, when I became disgusted with myself, I would reinstall Linux. Eventually I got a computer with a modem that Mandrake could detect, and even then, I still had a yen to try other distros. Got a cheapbytes edition of Red Hat 7.3, and immediately fell in love with X screensaver, that Godiva chocolate of eyecandy, starring Bob Dobbs!

    Still, I couldn't do much more with Linux but install it. Unable to find a distro I could really work with, and hating myself for going back to Win 98, I installed uninstalled and reinstalled dozens of times, maybe a couple of hundred times. My illegitimate daughter, who is 26 and probably geekier than 80 per cent of the geeks in here, made fun of me, but all that installing was just the equivalent of a rookie musician playing his scales. I installed Debian, Storm, Slackware, Knoppix, Fedora, SuSE, and I may be forgetting something.

    And then, finally, an act of God forced to me to pick a distro and run with it. My (illegal) Windows98 disk apparently had a little crack in it, cause it flew apart in the CD ROM drive with a loud BANG! like a rifle shot. The drive was useless, clogged with little shards of whatever it is that CDs are made of. Unable to install anything, I was forced to work with Fedora, which I had installed on my other hard drive. At the same time, some of my personal circumstances finally changed for the better... and I was able to relax, pay attention, and learn.

    After almost two years of futile struggle, all of a sudden it came together very quickly. I learned how to install RPM packages, and I developed my own method for keeping track of dependancies. I started using the command line to move my porn files around, and from there the command line opened up for me very quickly, in all its utter simplicity. And of course, once you're using the command line, that's when you really get hooked!

    Mike Watts played a role in my recovery. Because of him and others, I was able to come out of a bad time smarter and more empowered than I was going in. His role in that may have been small (or not, depending on his role at this site) but who knows how many dozens or hundreds or thousands of people he helped in the same way, and how through all of us his service to others will continue to live on.

    Once again, I didn't know him, and I'm sure that he was more than a Linux guru. But I imagine that he spent at least some of his time in service to the idea that technology is a human thing, and so it ought to be humane. Technology can be beautiful. It can be about empowering the powerless, instead of empowering the powerful.

    Or maybe Linux was just his idea of fun. Same difference.








    Last edited by blackbelt_jones; 09-06-2004 at 10:54 AM.

  5. #140
    Join Date
    Apr 1999
    Location
    Toronto
    Posts
    6,707
    This is such sad news. My condolences go to his loved ones and everyone here who knew him. I feel so bad that I'm only reading this now, but I just got back from a three week trip and am now only catching up on my e-stuff.

    It goes without saying that Mike was one of the most helpful people here and will surely be missed. Though I've never met him in person, Mike was a good friend when I used to be a frequent visitor to JL.

    Losing Mike is losing a piece of our community. All the energy and effort he's put into this place goes far beyond what anyone had ever expected, and will never be forgotten. We've lost the best moderator and one of the most helpful people on the planet.

  6. #141
    Join Date
    Aug 1999
    Location
    Juneau, AK USA
    Posts
    780
    Thank you, Mike for your years on LNO-JL. You were a fine teacher.
    We'll get thisright yet!

  7. #142
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    People's Republic of North America (Former United States)
    Posts
    849
    This is very sad! I wish I had logged in sooner to pay my respects. He helped me several times. What a nice guy. I hope he's in a happier place.
    I equivocate, therefore I might be.

    My Linux/Unix Boxes:
    Home: Slackware 10, CentOS 5.3, RHEL 5, Ubuntu Workstation 9.10, Work: RHEL 5, CentOS 5

  8. #143
    Join Date
    Oct 2001
    Location
    /canada/ont/windsor
    Posts
    1,499
    I can't believe he's gone.

    I can't even imagine the number of times Mike has been there to help me since I started on this board. He was a fine fellow and his friendship will always be remembered.

    I would like to pass on my deepest sympathies to his family and wish him well on his travels beyond.
    Where are we going and why am I in this handbasket?
    (No trees were killed in posting this message. However, a large number of electrons were seriously inconvenienced.)
    ----------------------------------
    Debian user since Potato
    Syngin: Web Portfolio

  9. #144
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    82
    Good-bye, MdWatts!
    Thank you for all the help.

  10. #145
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Posts
    264
    I would like to extend my condolences to mdwatts' family and friends.

    His knowledge always amazed me, and I'm sad to see a great teacher pass away.

    emus

  11. #146
    dunbar is offline Conspicuous Linux misuser
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Posts
    559
    So sad to read this.

    Best wishes to all his family and friends.

    Here is a link I posted over at USALUG.

  12. #147
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Posts
    1,088
    mdwatts, you will be missed. No one here can deny that the status of grandmaster will probably never be given to another.

    You helped so many.

    Best wishes to your family.
    Check out my ebay auction for my signature space on JLC.

    Hey if people can sell advertising space on thier bodies, I figure I can make $.02 on my signature space.

  13. #148
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    Vladivostok, Russia
    Posts
    9,053
    His words still echo these pages.
    "I was pulled over for speeding today. The officer said, "Don't you know
    the speed limit is 55 miles an hour?" And I said, "Yes, but I wasn't going
    to be out that long."

    How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
    COME VISIT ME IN RUSSIA NOW!!

  14. #149
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Location
    New Jersey
    Posts
    70
    I didn't know the man at all, but his knowledge helped me on many an occaision.



    From one fellow enthusiast to another, see you on the other side.


  15. #150
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Rochester, MN
    Posts
    3,604
    Originally posted by JohnT
    His words still echo these pages.
    Yeah, it was weird, I ran across one of his posts when I was searching the board for something. Kinda eerie, but nice to know he's still there watching over the board in a way

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