kazabyte

Isaac was a good friend of mine in the early 1990's. He was an aspiring musician and a pretty good software hack. Tragically, he was killed when a car smashed into his car on November 22, 1992.  He was only 29. Wow!  Fifteen years ago.  As a friend notes, I can't believe it's been 15 years and yet it seems just like yesterday.

A story about Isaac Salzman (and Me)

A day or two after Isaac started at Sun Microsystems, I received this cryptic single line email from Isaac:

(lunchp)

with a signature that included this line:

JG JG JG JG JG JG.....

I smiled because I then decided that "this guy," Isaac, is gonna fit it. 

The cryptic part, as you nerdy/lispy/emacs/ex-Sun AD/MMPP types recognize, is not the "(lunchp)"  part -- this clearly is a question  that asks, "Do you want to go to lunch?"

The cryptic part was the line in the signature.

So, indeed, we gather for lunch and I had to ask:

Me: Dude, what's up with the "Jay Gees (JG's)?"

Isaac: The "Jay Gees?"

Me: Yes, the "Jay Gees" in your signature....

A few seconds pass.

Isaac:  Dude! [Yes, we really talked like this]  (laughing)  That's the sound of the Mesa Boogie Master in Crunch Rhythm Mode --  the only way to fly! ... "Jug Jug Jug Jug Jug Jug Jug Jug...."

Me:  [Nodding]  Cool!  Where do you want to go to lunch?

I really didn't have too much of a clue what he was talking about, faked it, and of course figured it out  later.  It was the beginning of a great friendship.

Guess you had to be there.  It *was* funny.  Really.  Maybe you need to hear it.  (Wait for the JG's.)


Isaac:  I still miss you.  I'll have a M\"azen and a bread stick in your honor. 

[M\"azens and bread sticks -- We used to spend a lot of time drinking M\"azens and eating bread sticks at Gordon Biersch in Palo Alto, where we'd see Smokey Wallace and Larry Cable *every* night.  But I digress -- that's a story for another day.  :-)]