Linus Torvalds: Pearls before swine

Post by peregrine » Tue, Mar 01, 2011, 2:33 PM UTC

bad_user wrote: post #99

peregrine wrote: post #5

This post put a big stupid grin on my face, just imagining him walking around, and nobody knowing who he is. Him being far more influential and more important than most people in the room, and yet having trouble explaining what he does. It sounds like a family reunion trying to remember people names and telling everyone you make web sites for a living.

imagining him walking around, and nobody knowing who he is Consider this was the Oscar; imagine the same thing happening to an actor walking around at a Linux conference. Him being far more influential and more important than most people in the room Out of all people, I would think that geeks / hackers can recognize the importance of art for society. If anything I wish more Natalie Portmans were around; as soon enoug…

Post by systemtrigger » Tue, Mar 01, 2011, 3:22 PM UTC

kragen wrote: post #103

systemtrigger wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I met Billy Bob Thornton in a bar in Minneapolis one night. I'd worked a long day and was walking back to my hotel room, when I looked over to my left and saw Billy Bob sitting at a bar with 2 or 3 other people. Well I went in and grabbed a seat right next to him, ordered some food (wish I hadn't, kind of rude) and eavesdropped on his conversation. They were talking about baby names of all things. I knew a joke about…

Billy's a pretty nice guy, whatever his eccentricities. Was his band playing in Minneapolis?

Post by rstraver » Tue, Mar 01, 2011, 3:48 PM UTC

CWIZO wrote: post #42

mixmax wrote: post #37

I've done stuff that normal people would consider ubercool - doing illegal raves, run one of the hottest bars in Ibiza, throwing parties for the jetset. When seen from the outside it looks amazing - you get to talk to models, you get free booze, get in for free at all the clubs and have sex with models. The thing that nobody tells you is that it's hard work. Most of the actors that go to the oscars aren't there to ge…

I've read Slash's autobiography. It describes his life exactly as one, that is not in the know, would imagine it. That was in the eighties & nineties. Maybe times are different now.

Post by grammaton » Tue, Mar 01, 2011, 5:17 PM UTC

wisty wrote: post #115

pyre wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If Linus fell ill Linux would continue relatively unchanged. Linux development on the other hand... Linus is still the Steve Jobs of the Linux kernel world, so far as I understand it.

The Steve Jobs, minus the tantrums, random firings, and black mock turtlenecks. I hear he can be pretty critical though, especially if you ask him to port his work to a more "modern" language.

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Mar 02, 2011, 3:16 AM UTC

ryanisinallofus wrote: post #100

lanstein wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He was absolutely livid. This was back when he still played for the Mariners, in case that wasn't clear. I would have paid anything to have seen his facial expression.

Which, in the end is why we couldn't keep him. Sigh.