Re: RIP: Bill Manning

[Ray Wong <rayw () rayw net>]

I also had the good fortune of working with Bill. I learned a lot from him,
both while he was officially our vendor, and afterwards, when he was always
ready and willing to provide insight and advice when I asked. He was
absolutely one of those rare individuals who would never hesitate to help
out behind the scenes without any expectation of reward or recognition. A
simple personal thank you was always appreciated, and even that seemed to
surprise him, as if he really didn't even believe he'd done anything. He
will be missed.

-R>




On Tue, Jan 28, 2020 at 8:20 AM Don Wilder <don.wilder () gmail com> wrote:

> I too am saddened by this news. I had the honor to work with Bill during
> our time together at ARIN. The world is dimmed by his passing.
> ---------------------------------------------
> Don Wilder
> ---------------------------------------------
>
> Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build
> bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce
> bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning.
>
>
> On Mon, Jan 27, 2020 at 5:54 PM Rabbi Rob Thomas <robt () cymru com> wrote:
>
> > Dear team,
> >
> > I was very sad when I heard this news.  Bill was a fun and friendly
> > presence, and patiently mentored me in my early days.  I’ll never forget
> > when he scrawled “I love bots” on one of my NANOG badges.  I still have
> > it.  :)  I had the fortune to be on a couple of panels with him, and I
> > learned from his answers and the way he presented them.  I admire that he
> > cared, and he gave of himself without hesitation.  I will miss him and his
> > contributions.
> >
> > Zichrono livracha, Bill’s memory is definitely for blessing.
> >
> > Be well,
> > Rabbi Rob.
> >
> >
> > > On Jan 27, 2020, at 3:34 PM, Brett Watson <brett () the-watsons org>
> > wrote:
> > > I was saddened to see this yesterday, that Bill Manning had passed. I
> > was surprised this morning that it hadn’t hit NANOG yet but thought I’d
> > post something because I have a ton of respect for Bill as I’m sure many
> > here do.
> > > I met Bill as a very young, thought-I-knew-everything network engineer
> > around ’92 when I was starting my internet life at a small ISP in Houston.
> > Bill was visiting Stan Barber @ Sesquinet, which was my upstream provider
> > at the time via T1, if I remember it all correctly.
> > > I was young, fresh out of college with a CS degree, and learning this
> > “internet thing.” I met with Bill on campus at Rice University to discuss
> > networking/routing, and Bill taught me CIDR, which I had no f-ing idea at
> > that time what it was. Bill was always gracious and willing to share/teach.
> > We always chatted and stayed in touch at NANOG and IETF conferences and
> > through his relationship with Los Nettos over the years. Most notable, to
> > me, was 2007 when my youngest daughter was diagnosed with cancer, and I
> > believe Bill’s wife had (or previously battled) cancer as well. I hadn’t
> > seen Bill for a few years, but he immediately reached out, shared his
> > positive thoughts/prayers, and kept in touch during the battle we went
> > through. Bill cared about people, and as noted below, he was smart as hell,
> > and always had a crazy idea for how to solve a problem. Also as noted in
> > Rod’s note below, Bill had a wealth of music knowledge and could always
> > recommend something new and interesting to listen to.
> > > I’ll definitely miss Bill, and his passing makes me feel the years, and
> > the mileage, but in a good way.
> > > -b
> > >
> > > > > This morning I talked to Julie Manning, Bill's wife. Bill died early
> > > > > Saturday morning, at home in Oregon.  Most of you know Bill was
> > > > > waiting for a new heart. He would perhaps have gotten one next
> > > > > month. I guess the old one just wouldn't hold out long enough.
> > > > >
> > > > > I first met Bill in about 1995, when I returned to ISI after my first
> > > > > stint in Japan.  He had taken a position in the Los Nettos project at
> > > > > ISI, a regional network project in the days when Internet service and
> > > > > operations work was still heavily shared between business and
> > > > > academia.  Bill brought an operator's eye to the project, often seeing
> > > > > things differently from the researchers in the group.
> > > > >
> > > > > Bill kept the most erratic hours of any non-student I've ever met.  He
> > > > > might be in the office at 2am or at 2pm, either was equally likely.
> > > > > I'd ask, "Bill, what time did you come in?" He'd reply, "10am."  "I
> > > > > was here before that, and you were already here, it must have been
> > > > > earlier."  "Greenwich Mean Time."
> > > > >
> > > > > And in one phase of life, "Bill, where do you live?" "Seat 4A."  He
> > > > > would speculate about his average altitude and speed over the previous
> > > > > month.
> > > > >
> > > > > And, like any good geek, Bill had a spectacular collection of tie-dye
> > > > > t-shirts.  He came by the look honestly: growing up in the Bay Area,
> > > > > he had actually snuck into Grateful Dead rehearsals held in a barn,
> > > > > and had traveled as a deadhead for a while.
> > > > >
> > > > > At ISI, we called Bill "the bad idea fairy".  He always brought a
> > > > > slightly-off-kilter view of technical problems, which triggered
> > > > > endless discussions of fascinating, if usually implausible,
> > > > > alternatives.
> > > > >
> > > > > He had the most broad-ranging musical tastes of anyone I knew, and
> > > > > would eat almost anything (though, like me, he didn't drink alcohol).
> > > > > I was often envious of his eating and musical experiences.  He
> > > > > certainly lived life to its fullest.
> > > > >
> > > > > On one occasion, I recall, we were eating lunch in a Thai restaurant
> > > > > for the first time.  Bill called for the food "the way you'd make it
> > > > > in Thailand".  The waiter went back into the kitchen and came out with
> > > > > a few raw Thai chiles.  Bill ate one whole, without even breaking a
> > > > > sweat.  The owner of the restaurant immediately came out to see who
> > > > > was eating them.  Pam became a friend to our group.
> > > > >
> > > > > On other occasions, when the waiter asked for his order, Bill would
> > > > > point to another person at the table, and say, "I'll have what she's
> > > > > having."  "Well, what is she having?" "I don't know, I haven't heard
> > > > > her say."  Once in a while, he would point to someone else in the
> > > > > restaurant and say, "I'll have what they are having."  It was funny
> > > > > and sometimes disconcerting, which was very Bill, and it was also his
> > > > > way of making sure he himself was eating (and thinking and doing) as
> > > > > broadly as possible, without getting stale.
> > > > >
> > > > > Bill worked in a bakery before joining Texas Instruments and
> > > > > accidentally falling into computer networking.  (When we first met, he
> > > > > was commuting between Houston and L.A.; Julie and the kids were still
> > > > > in Houston.)  I believe he attended a series of colleges but never
> > > > > finished his bachelor's degree.  Just a few years ago, however, Jun
> > > > > Murai convinced him to get a Ph.D.; this took clearing administrative
> > > > > hoops to demonstrate that Bill's life experience matched that of a
> > > > > bachelor's degree, which it certainly did.  I was honored to be on his
> > > > > Ph.D. committee.  I literally created a "trouble ticket" accounting
> > > > > scheme to track change requests for his thesis.
> > > > >
> > > > > Bill was a valued member of the WIDE Project here in Japan.  He worked
> > > > > with the DNS root operations group here, and participated in as many
> > > > > WIDE meetings as he could.  He also came to Keio University's Shonan
> > > > > Fujisawa Campus when he was in Japan, and one of the best things about
> > > > > Bill was how seriously he took the students and their work, treating
> > > > > them like adult colleagues.
> > > > >
> > > > > Bill had friends on all seven continents, and for all I know on the
> > > > > International Space Station, as well. He was loved by us all.
> > > > >
> > > > > Julie does not plan to have a funeral immediately, so there is no need
> > > > > for flowers or the like. The family may do a memorial service in Utah
> > > > > in the spring.
> > > > >
> > > > > He was a unique and wonderful human being. And a good friend.
> > > > > Rest in peace, Bill.
> > > > >
> > > > > —Rod
> > >
> > > >
> >
> > --
> > Rabbi Rob Thomas                                           Team Cymru
> >    "It is easy to believe in freedom of speech for those with whom we
> >     agree." - Leo McKern