Geeky Good-byes

My geeks are leaving me!
First of all, there’s SuperJason — the guy I’ve been working with for the last 6 months who lives in Greenbay that I was was finally going to get to meet? Ya, he went ahead and got another job some place else. Not only will I have one less interesting person to talk to at work, but I’m totally screwed with out my grid guy. Thanks a lot, Jason. I hope your new job is fantastic… I’ll just be here… with Shawn (who’s actually there)… trying to figure out your grid…
Then there’s my good friend, Jon Bates. He lives much closer — at least for the next 3 days or so. A true geek, with just a touch of nerd, Jon has been a production engineer, a fellow hacker, a nuclear technician, and a friend. And now he’s going off to Washington (State, not DC) with his new fiancĂ©, where he’ll alternate between life on shore, and life on a submarine for the next 4 years. Jon and I have been through a lot together: wiring telecom systems, building better WiFi networks, hacking together media centers, automobile repairs and improvements, moves, troubleshooting production equipment… pretty much all the important parts of a good “guy relationship.”
100_2609.jpgI remember the first time I met Jon Bates. He had a Bluetooth headset in his ear, a RAZR in one hand, and a Windows laptop in the other. I think my first thought was: nerd! Then he told a really long story about his job troubleshooting a nuclear simulator, and my next thought was… nerd!
But he turned out to be a pretty cool guy. The kind of friend who doesn’t say “no” when you need a hand — no matter how much of an inconvenience it might be for him. The kind of guy who works through the night, then shows up at church and works through the day, only to Production Direct the evening service, so that people can hear God’s word. And the kind of guy who does all of that without ever asking for any recognition.
Granted, we did have to switch him over to using a Mac, and he did just finally replace that RAZR with an iPhone. But no one’s perfect, and Nic and I have both been blessed to have Jon Bates in our lives for this season.
So all the best to my geek friends who are moving on. I’ll stay subscribed to your blogs, I know I’ll see you online, and I’ll hope one day our paths cross again in the real world!