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. :-)]
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