Has Anybody Seen My Code?

The Ruby Rogues posted their Jim Weirich Tribute Episode on April 9th, 2014, a little over a month and a half having passed since Jim’s passing. Having first started practicing Ruby around a year ago, I admit that — while I certainly appreciated Rake — I hadn’t spent the time to get to know (from a distance, at least) the wonderful man behind the code.

Now, having fallen asleep many a night to a Jim Weirich conference talk, having perused the 100-line Ruby program that became Rake, and having read and/or listened to the anecdotes of Jim’s peers, it is clear to me that Jim Weirich was the friend, mentor, and creative innovator that any forward-thinking community needs. The anecdotes, in particular, have reminded me that the challenging of conventional thought is often the source of innovation. Moreover, the time we give to others is as valuable as the time we keep for ourselves.

At the crossroads of these two ideas stood Jim Weirich, a man who believed in his own opinions and gave others’ their time of day. We all can learn a lot from Jim the programmer and Jim the person. I know I have.

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