I also had the good fortune of working with Bill. I learned a lot from him, both while he was officially our vendor, and afterwards, when he was always ready and willing to provide insight and advice when I asked. He was absolutely one of those rare individuals who would never hesitate to help out behind the scenes without any expectation of reward or recognition. A simple personal thank you was always appreciated, and even that seemed to surprise him, as if he really didn't even believe he'd done anything. He will be missed.
-R> On Tue, Jan 28, 2020 at 8:20 AM Don Wilder <don.wil...@gmail.com> wrote: > I too am saddened by this news. I had the honor to work with Bill during > our time together at ARIN. The world is dimmed by his passing. > --------------------------------------------- > Don Wilder > --------------------------------------------- > > Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build > bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce > bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning. > > > On Mon, Jan 27, 2020 at 5:54 PM Rabbi Rob Thomas <r...@cymru.com> wrote: > >> Dear team, >> >> I was very sad when I heard this news. Bill was a fun and friendly >> presence, and patiently mentored me in my early days. I’ll never forget >> when he scrawled “I love bots” on one of my NANOG badges. I still have >> it. :) I had the fortune to be on a couple of panels with him, and I >> learned from his answers and the way he presented them. I admire that he >> cared, and he gave of himself without hesitation. I will miss him and his >> contributions. >> >> Zichrono livracha, Bill’s memory is definitely for blessing. >> >> Be well, >> Rabbi Rob. >> >> >> > On Jan 27, 2020, at 3:34 PM, Brett Watson <br...@the-watsons.org> >> wrote: >> > >> > I was saddened to see this yesterday, that Bill Manning had passed. I >> was surprised this morning that it hadn’t hit NANOG yet but thought I’d >> post something because I have a ton of respect for Bill as I’m sure many >> here do. >> > >> > I met Bill as a very young, thought-I-knew-everything network engineer >> around ’92 when I was starting my internet life at a small ISP in Houston. >> Bill was visiting Stan Barber @ Sesquinet, which was my upstream provider >> at the time via T1, if I remember it all correctly. >> > >> > I was young, fresh out of college with a CS degree, and learning this >> “internet thing.” I met with Bill on campus at Rice University to discuss >> networking/routing, and Bill taught me CIDR, which I had no f-ing idea at >> that time what it was. Bill was always gracious and willing to share/teach. >> We always chatted and stayed in touch at NANOG and IETF conferences and >> through his relationship with Los Nettos over the years. Most notable, to >> me, was 2007 when my youngest daughter was diagnosed with cancer, and I >> believe Bill’s wife had (or previously battled) cancer as well. I hadn’t >> seen Bill for a few years, but he immediately reached out, shared his >> positive thoughts/prayers, and kept in touch during the battle we went >> through. Bill cared about people, and as noted below, he was smart as hell, >> and always had a crazy idea for how to solve a problem. Also as noted in >> Rod’s note below, Bill had a wealth of music knowledge and could always >> recommend something new and interesting to listen to. >> > >> > I’ll definitely miss Bill, and his passing makes me feel the years, and >> the mileage, but in a good way. >> > >> > -b >> > >> >>> This morning I talked to Julie Manning, Bill's wife. Bill died early >> >>> Saturday morning, at home in Oregon. Most of you know Bill was >> >>> waiting for a new heart. He would perhaps have gotten one next >> >>> month. I guess the old one just wouldn't hold out long enough. >> >>> >> >>> I first met Bill in about 1995, when I returned to ISI after my first >> >>> stint in Japan. He had taken a position in the Los Nettos project at >> >>> ISI, a regional network project in the days when Internet service and >> >>> operations work was still heavily shared between business and >> >>> academia. Bill brought an operator's eye to the project, often seeing >> >>> things differently from the researchers in the group. >> >>> >> >>> Bill kept the most erratic hours of any non-student I've ever met. He >> >>> might be in the office at 2am or at 2pm, either was equally likely. >> >>> I'd ask, "Bill, what time did you come in?" He'd reply, "10am." "I >> >>> was here before that, and you were already here, it must have been >> >>> earlier." "Greenwich Mean Time." >> >>> >> >>> And in one phase of life, "Bill, where do you live?" "Seat 4A." He >> >>> would speculate about his average altitude and speed over the previous >> >>> month. >> >>> >> >>> And, like any good geek, Bill had a spectacular collection of tie-dye >> >>> t-shirts. He came by the look honestly: growing up in the Bay Area, >> >>> he had actually snuck into Grateful Dead rehearsals held in a barn, >> >>> and had traveled as a deadhead for a while. >> >>> >> >>> At ISI, we called Bill "the bad idea fairy". He always brought a >> >>> slightly-off-kilter view of technical problems, which triggered >> >>> endless discussions of fascinating, if usually implausible, >> >>> alternatives. >> >>> >> >>> He had the most broad-ranging musical tastes of anyone I knew, and >> >>> would eat almost anything (though, like me, he didn't drink alcohol). >> >>> I was often envious of his eating and musical experiences. He >> >>> certainly lived life to its fullest. >> >>> >> >>> On one occasion, I recall, we were eating lunch in a Thai restaurant >> >>> for the first time. Bill called for the food "the way you'd make it >> >>> in Thailand". The waiter went back into the kitchen and came out with >> >>> a few raw Thai chiles. Bill ate one whole, without even breaking a >> >>> sweat. The owner of the restaurant immediately came out to see who >> >>> was eating them. Pam became a friend to our group. >> >>> >> >>> On other occasions, when the waiter asked for his order, Bill would >> >>> point to another person at the table, and say, "I'll have what she's >> >>> having." "Well, what is she having?" "I don't know, I haven't heard >> >>> her say." Once in a while, he would point to someone else in the >> >>> restaurant and say, "I'll have what they are having." It was funny >> >>> and sometimes disconcerting, which was very Bill, and it was also his >> >>> way of making sure he himself was eating (and thinking and doing) as >> >>> broadly as possible, without getting stale. >> >>> >> >>> Bill worked in a bakery before joining Texas Instruments and >> >>> accidentally falling into computer networking. (When we first met, he >> >>> was commuting between Houston and L.A.; Julie and the kids were still >> >>> in Houston.) I believe he attended a series of colleges but never >> >>> finished his bachelor's degree. Just a few years ago, however, Jun >> >>> Murai convinced him to get a Ph.D.; this took clearing administrative >> >>> hoops to demonstrate that Bill's life experience matched that of a >> >>> bachelor's degree, which it certainly did. I was honored to be on his >> >>> Ph.D. committee. I literally created a "trouble ticket" accounting >> >>> scheme to track change requests for his thesis. >> >>> >> >>> Bill was a valued member of the WIDE Project here in Japan. He worked >> >>> with the DNS root operations group here, and participated in as many >> >>> WIDE meetings as he could. He also came to Keio University's Shonan >> >>> Fujisawa Campus when he was in Japan, and one of the best things about >> >>> Bill was how seriously he took the students and their work, treating >> >>> them like adult colleagues. >> >>> >> >>> Bill had friends on all seven continents, and for all I know on the >> >>> International Space Station, as well. He was loved by us all. >> >>> >> >>> Julie does not plan to have a funeral immediately, so there is no need >> >>> for flowers or the like. The family may do a memorial service in Utah >> >>> in the spring. >> >>> >> >>> He was a unique and wonderful human being. And a good friend. >> >>> Rest in peace, Bill. >> >>> >> >>> —Rod >> > >> >> >> >> -- >> Rabbi Rob Thomas Team Cymru >> "It is easy to believe in freedom of speech for those with whom we >> agree." - Leo McKern >> >> >> >>