I have been going through my digital pictures this past week looking for illustrations to use in articles. Most of these pictures reach back to 1994 and are arranged by date and the city or event where they were taken.

As I went through them, I realized a couple of things. First of all, there were not only people that had slipped my memory, but even the event or city had been "forgotten." The amazing thing about the human mind, however, is that you never really forget anything that you ever consciously do, so even though I had forgotten about some of them, the pictures often reminded me of great times with great people.

Free software was at the core of this. Throughout my lifetime (or at least from the time that I was a university student and finding out about computers for the first time) people sharing their skills and knowledge through their software has propelled my learning, my career, and my persona. People tried to help me, and I hope I have not only paid it back but also have "paid it forward" to others.

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