Tom Roush
The SQL Family lost a much admired member to cancer last month, Tom Roush. In our little community, Tom was a well-known raconteur who wrote around a hundred stories, many of which were published on his blog. He was working on a book containing the best of these stories just before he died, and I encourage you to purchase a copy.
I did not know Tom well, so anything I write pales into insignificance next to those who knew him better, but I did have the pleasure of chatting to him on Twitter in January. We’ll miss you, Tom.
The Big Climb
On the topic of cancer, I coincidentally found out that a friend of mine, Andrew Cook (blog | Twitter), has been supporting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) through an awareness campaign called The Big Climb.
Andrew and others will be climbing the 1,311 steps of the Columbia Center in downtown Seattle on 25 March 2018, with proceeds going to the Big Climb and LLS.
What makes this initiative interesting is that Andrew is trading software development services in exchange for donating to the Big Climb. If you need any coding work done, Andrew will do the work and will donate whatever he charges you to the Big Climb.
Other Initiatives
If you already financially support a charity, there are other programs around that you can support with your time. If you have any coding skills, check out the Humanitarian Toolbox. In their words, you will be helping “disaster relief organizations with open source software and services”.
Community is Family
It has been said that you can’t choose your family, but of the people I’ve met over the years online and in various communities, I disagree. I have had the pleasure and privilege of becoming part of some very close-knit groups, many members of which I would call family.
You too are part of your own communities. It takes no effort to say a kind word to someone, and I encourage you to do so, at least once a day. Whatever you’re going through right now, there is someone else who is going through the very same thing, or has gone through it in the past. We already support each other from a technical point of view, but I believe personal support is equally—if not more—important.
Photo by Hudson Hintze on Unsplash.