We’ve been praying for #Canadian recording artist Brian Doerksen’s health. From his family:
“Thank you. Your words of encouragement have been such a gift to our family and team, and we have been deeply blessed by your kindness during this difficult time.
We have just been informed that Brian has been diagnosed with stage 4 #cancer
We have decided to start a GoFundMe to help support Brian and his family with the financial burden of medical expenses during this season”.
https://www.briandoerksen.com

A quotation from Molly Ivins

I just finished with nine months of treatment for cancer. First they poison you, then they mutilate you, then they burn you. I’ve had more fun. And when it’s over, you’re so glad that you’re grateful to absolutely everyone. And I am. The trouble is, I’m not a better person. I was in great hopes that confronting my own mortality would make me deeper, more thoughtful. Many lovely people sent books on how to find a more spiritual meaning in life. My response was, “Oh, hell, I can’t go on a spiritual journey — I’m constipated.”

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (2000-10), “Cancer, II,” The Progressive magazine

More about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/15925/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #mollyivins #breastcancer #cancer #chemotherapy #gratitude #medicaltreatment #mortality #radiation #selfimprovement #spirituality

I have been away from the Internet for at least a couple months. I came to quickly check my feeds and I am sad to have found report of the passing away of a very cool hacker, Thom Miller, known by the handle, Retro Guy. According to his wife Kaylen Miller, Thom died about two weeks ago from pancreatic cancer. He had a years-long struggle with cancer and multiple therapies and surgeries. During all the time of his illness he continued to hack away providing network access and software updates absolutely free to his user base. He was a strong believer in the value of open and decentralized communication for all. His software is simple and awesome, and useful for censorship-resistant communication. (https://gitlab.com/rslight-public/rocksolid-light)

Thom, known as Retro Guy, created the Rocksolid Light NNTP forums and server software. He served the hacker community as a free speech advocate and provider of free speech communication networking. He refused to censor opinions that he found offensive or stupid on the principle of the golden rule. He endured a lot of annoyances to provide service for many. Thom maintained the software for years giving web-based NNTP access to countless users. Thom was always helpful and patient with users needing assistance, even when he was feeling ill and suffering. He pushed through his pain to serve others with something he believed was a necessary tool and blessing for the general public.

I am sad to learn of Thom's passing. He will be missed and remembered. I will remember him by continuing to run his software.

More:
https://news.novabbs.org/rocksolid/article-flat.php?id=1024&group=rocksolid.nodes.help#1024

More:
https://news.novabbs.org/rocksolid/article-flat.php?id=560&group=rocksolid.nodes.announce#560

More:
https://news.novabbs.org/rocksolid/article-flat.php?id=561&group=rocksolid.nodes.announce#561

More:
https://www.novabbs.com/interests/article-flat.php?id=25410&group=alt.obituaries

#obituary #rocksolidlight #usenet #nntp #freespeech #cancer #condolences #networknews #retroguy #novabbs #bbs