RE: RIP: Bill Manning
Definitely sad news. I worked with Bill at ISI when we were forming the MAE-LA-LAAP Internet Exchange and owe a lot of my current contributions to his efforts back then. He had some of the most interesting (and funny after-the-fact) stories surrounding his many international trips, including the time a travel agent forgot to get him a visa to transit from the domestic airport in China to the international one. He definitely touched many people and shared his knowledge and expertise for many next generation network engineers and computer scientists. --celeste -Original Message- From: NANOG On Behalf Of Brett Watson Sent: Monday, January 27, 2020 12:35 PM To: nanog@nanog.org Subject: RIP: Bill Manning 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
Re: RIP: Bill Manning
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 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 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 >> 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
Re: RIP: Bill Manning
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 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 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 >
Re: RIP: Bill Manning
Chris Caputo posted the following to the SIX mailing list a few days ago. I think this really shows Bill in action, helping a new IX get set up. He will be missed. Bill Manning died unexpectedly this morning, January 25th, at his home. It was Bill's presentations on June 5th, 1997 at NANOG in Tampa that provided the impetus to evolve the private interconnect between IXA and Wolfe to expand to include 3 networks, thus forming the IXP. These were the presentations: - "International Exchange Points: Growth & Trends", Bill Manning, ISI - "Large & Small Exchange Points: Advantages, Tradeoffs, Futures", Bill Manning, ISI Bill explained that once 3 networks connect to a common fabric, other networks will be motivated to join. Only 3! Nikos and I looked at each other and decided at that point to connect my network to his (IXA), on the same ethernet fabric that IXA and Wolfe were communicating. I'll never forget the moment and 15 days later my network was connected. Per the below emails, after a few months we switched to Bill's address space, and it was used for the SIX subnets until July 19th, 2010, almost 13 years. Our earliest members will recall that Bill would email the SIX mailing list to announce each new IP assignment. The first using his address space is below. This tradition of Bill's continues today. He will be missed. Chris -- Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 17:10:18 -0800 (PST) From: Chris Caputo To: bmann...@isi.edu Subject: new exchange point - SIX Hi Bill. We have a new exchange point for the West Coast section of the "North American Exchange Points" web page. The exchange is the SIX - Seattle Internet Exchange. We now have a web page up at: http://www.altopia.com/six/ Currently there are 4 participants and we are using address space from one of the participants. Since we are interested in growing the number of participants and being taken seriously, would now be an appropriate time to renumber into a neutral address block provided by you? How do we petition for this? Once the address space issues are settled, we'll probably announce the exchange on NANOG. Are there more appropriate forums for such an announcement? Thanks for your time. Chris -- Date: Sat, 15 Nov 1997 10:58:33 -0800 (PST) From: bmann...@isi.edu To: Chris Caputo Cc: bmann...@isi.edu Subject: Re: new exchange point - SIX Hi Bill. We have a new exchange point for the West Coast section of the "North American Exchange Points" web page. The exchange is the SIX - Seattle Internet Exchange. We now have a web page up at: http://www.altopia.com/six/ Cool! Currently there are 4 participants and we are using address space from one of the participants. Since we are interested in growing the number of participants and being taken seriously, would now be an appropriate time to renumber into a neutral address block provided by you? How do we petition for this? Now is as good as any. The details are found at: http://www.isi.edu/div7/naps/basics.html Once the address space issues are settled, we'll probably announce the exchange on NANOG. Are there more appropriate forums for such an announcement? Thanks for your time. Chris -- --bill -- Date: Tue, 18 Nov 1997 08:28:57 -0800 (PST) From: bmann...@isi.edu To: six-memb...@alt.net Subject: Welcome ;; QUERY SECTION: ;; 10.180.32.198.in-addr.arpa, type = ANY, class = IN ;; ANSWER SECTION: 10.180.32.198.in-addr.arpa. 1D IN PTR six.alt.net. 10.180.32.198.in-addr.arpa. 1D IN TXT "NOC-phone:425-888-1965" 10.180.32.198.in-addr.arpa. 1D IN TXT "NOC-email:n...@alt.net" 10.180.32.198.in-addr.arpa. 1D IN TXT "TC-Name:Chris Caputo" 10.180.32.198.in-addr.arpa. 1D IN TXT "TC-Phone:425-888-1965" 10.180.32.198.in-addr.arpa. 1D IN TXT "TC-EMail:ccap...@alt.net" 10.180.32.198.in-addr.arpa. 1D IN TXT "ASN:6456" 10.180.32.198.in-addr.arpa. 1D IN TXT "Orign-date:11/17/97" -- --bill -- Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:37:27 + (UTC) From: Chris Caputo To: Bill Manning Cc: Bill Chris Jared Mike Nick Nikos Patrick Troy Subject: SIX return of 198.32.180/24 Bill, The SIX has 100% finished renumbering out of 198.32.180/24 and so we now return it to EP.NET for re-use elsewhere. The same goes for 2001:478:180::/64 and the previously returned 198.32.140/24. Please turn off all pulls from ns1.alt.net (208.90.169.2) and ns1.semaphore.net (209.221.128.1) if any. I attach the below email to note the historical significance. Thank you for the almost 13 years of helping the SIX. We wouldn't have grown like we did without your neutral address space. Sincerely, Chris and the rest of the SIX crew --- Date: Mon, 17 Nov 1997 13:24:27 -0800 (PST) From: bmann...@isi.edu To: ccap...@alt.net Cc: bmann...@isi.edu, six-memb...@alt.net, six-i...@alt.net Subject: Re: new exchange point - SIX Welcome SIX - ;; QUESTIONS: ;; 180.32.198.in-addr.arpa, type = NS, class = IN ;; ANSWERS:
Re: RIP: Bill Manning
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 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
Re: RIP: Bill Manning
I'm so sorry to hear about Bill. He willingly shared what he knew with anyone who asked, and had an oft-unacknowledged hand in many RFCs. I first met him at ISI in Santa Monica where he helped install one of our first peering routers in a parking ramp janitor's closet. Later I had the good fortune to edit one of his academic papers on DNS, and he was a joy to work with. I learned a lot about DNS from him. I'll miss his many Facebook gags and kind words. From: NANOG on behalf of Andrew Smith Sent: Monday, January 27, 2020 1:33 PM To: Brett Watson Cc: nanog@nanog.org Subject: Re: RIP: Bill Manning Sad to hear about Bill. I also began my career at a small ISP in Houston where we also had a T1 to SESQUINET, and Bill was already a legend to us Jr. Sysadmins in town in 1995/96. -Andrew On Mon, Jan 27, 2020 at 2:36 PM Brett Watson mailto: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 an
Re: RIP: Bill Manning
Sad to hear about Bill. I also began my career at a small ISP in Houston where we also had a T1 to SESQUINET, and Bill was already a legend to us Jr. Sysadmins in town in 1995/96. -Andrew On Mon, Jan 27, 2020 at 2:36 PM Brett Watson 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
