bearded basement guys

If you're an academic you have probably seen a person meeting this description: a man of indeterminate age, with a long scruffy beard, who builds things -- whether mechanical, electrical, or digital. You give him the specs and, some time later, probably sooner than you think, the desired device shows up and it is perfect. You may never have any idea how he did it -- he may not be able to explain it to you -- but there it is. Ta-da!

We have a couple of great basement guys in my department, but my current basement angel is at a university a thousand miles away, and yet he helps me troubleshoot his completely inscrutable programming language for no fee, always within a few hours. I've yet to send him a problem he couldn't solve with it.

Have you thanked your local bearded basement guy lately?

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This post is worth reading -- LJ is willing to donate $30 to DonorsChoose for every user who sends email to donorschoose@sixapart.com requesting it; basically they'll send you an electronic gift certificate to spend on any of the DonorsChoose projects, which are basically small grants written by teachers in poor communities looking for funding for classroom supplies. (It may be no substitute for adequate funding, but it's a hell of a lot better than teachers taking out loans...) I've donated to DonorsChoose before; it's pretty rewarding, 'cause you eventually get a packet of handwritten thank you letters from the kiddos.

Go! Now! Request your $30 gift certificate! It costs you nothing but a few minutes of project-surfing to figure out where you want to put the money. You have to email the above address by 5 pm, Monday, October 5 or the money goes poof.