linux kernel stories

I was a Linux kernel developer for a number of years, and had the good fortune to travel a bunch and meet some interesting characters.

strange entanglement

2012-07-27

In the linux.com interview with gregkh is the following q&a:

Q: What's the most amused you've ever been by the collaborative
development process (flame war, silly code submission, amazing
accomplishment)?
 
I think the most amazing thing is that you never know when you will run
into someone you have interacted with through email, in person. A great
example of this was one year in the Czech Republic, at a Linux conference.
A number of the developers all went to a climbing gym one evening, and I
found myself climbing with another kernel developer who worked for a
different company, someone whose code I had rejected in the past for
various reasons, and then eventually accepted after a number of different
iterations. So I&#8217;ve always thought after that incident, &#8220;always
try to be nice in email, you never know when the person on the other side
of the email might be holding onto a rope ensuring your safety.&#8221;
 
The other wonderful thing about this process is that it is centered around
the individual, not the company they work for. People change jobs all the
time, yet, we all still work together, on the same things, and see each
other all around the world in different locations, no matter what company
we work for.

I was the “other kernel developer” and we were probably talking about Physical PCI slot objects, which took 16 rounds of revision before it was accepted.

The great myth of open source is that it’s a complete meritocracy. While there’s more truth there than not, the fact is that as with any shared human endeavor, the personalities in your community are just as important as the raw intellectual output of that community.

This is not to say Rusty is wrong, but rather to remind that if you’re both smart and easy to get along with, life is a lot easier.

Or perhaps if you’re a jerk, you should stick to safer sports like golf.

snakes in a kernel

2009-10-05

This is definitely the best changelog that I’ve ever written: http://git.kernel.org/linus/50d716e477a456f6ef8ef05f06a34f3d96b66e80

ACPI: dock: fix "sibiling" typo

Crossword clues as haikus:

Snakes from the same brood  
fighting Jackson on a plane?  
sibilant siblings

I guess Will Shortz's job is still secure.

I am sick and tired of these motherf@#$ing typos in the motherf@#$ing kernel!

Maybe Brendan Emmett Quigley can use haikus as a theme for one of his puzzles…