In Memory of Evi Nemeth

In Memory of Evi Nemeth

[Eric J Bowman]

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A true friend. I was never a munchkin, and she was never a customer of my ISP despite having helped me build it. Those who attended annual confabs of the Colorado Internet Cooperative Association have heard me say the following about her, in front of an audience, with her present and I'm thankful I had the opportunity to do so.



Evi demanded CSLIP, I only offered PPP. When she asked me why I wouldn't set up CSLIP for her, I said "I just can't justify adding a layer to my stack for one part-time dialup account." She gave me her big ol' smile and half-hug and said, "Good for you! This is how reasonable people agree to disagree." We never spoke of it again, and moved on with our friendship intact.


Ain't nothing special about me other than I joined the Coop (#30) before building my ISP, after getting my degree in Chemistry without ever having crossed paths with Evi at CU-Boulder, and happened to be building my dialup POP in the town she maintained her permanent residence. I suspect she went up there more than once just to help me, for example the weekend it took us to figure out how to get RADIUS up and running on my new USRobotics gear.



That WAS a vacation for her, helping me build and later scale, and everyone in the room knew she wasn't there to help me per se. Because they all did the same thing, asking Evi or me to show them how we did it. She did it with the joy of a true scientist. I said to everyone I hoped to never lose that joy, but oh my did I ever, and I was glad to have her to commiserate with about layer nine syndrome.



That was 30 years ago, when I met her, and now I'm the age she was then. I also said that when I was at that point in my career, I hoped I would still have her enthusiasm about sharing her knowledge with others, because I aspired to be like her. And that was the thing. So did everyone else she ever helped, so if we come across as smug or arrogant or something, it isn't that really. It's just that layer nine goes hand-in-hand with the saying she was best known for: "Try it!"



Debating reasons not to try something is layer nine syndrome. I'm glad Evi doesn't have a grave to roll over in, because I'm afraid FOSS has succumbed. I guess there weren't enough mentors like Evi to go around. Look, nothing rattles me anymore. I have no deadlines, no product cycle, no clients, no financial obligations, just my dog. Layer nine syndrome is why nobody ever got fired for buying Microsoft, and look where it's gotten us.



FOSS must do better.


Peace,

Eric

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Re: In Memory of Evi Nemeth

[Nick Ewins]

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Long live Evi.  Long live illumos.  Long live FOSS.  Long live the dream.

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