Wasted On An Idiot....

David, you have no idea how I've struggled with this.

You have no idea....

None.

It was a good Labor Day Weekend. Good from a productivity point of view. In this little room I call home right now, we've been able to build, test and place 9 computers for The HeliOS Project. I say we built 9...actually we built 8. The ninth one was the one you sent to me last month. I found a place for it this past week.

As most people know, school started within the last week all over the United States. Here in Austin, that meant that we were going to get extremely busy. We as in HeliOS Solutions. This is the time of year that teachers discreetly ask their students who has or doesn't have a computer at home. A few of those teachers come to me and ask if I can build the computers they need.

We always say yes. We've yet to turn anyone down.

In the past 48 hours, we've received requests for four more. somehow, some way, we will build those computers and give them to those who need them.

Most often these days, it's just me that builds the computers. With Ryan Sommers in Afghanistan and the other volunteers either in college or new-found jobs, I am usually the one that does the building.

That's fine. This is a good thing for me right now. I'm going through some changes and this is good for me.

It is through the few but generous supporters of The HeliOS Project that we are able to do this. Between them and second jobs I take, financially disadvantaged kids who normally would not have a computer are able to get one through our efforts.

As an aside, I want to take a minute and give my sincere thanks to Tom King for his help and support over the Labor Day weekend. A wireless outage brought what we do here to a standstill and it was through Tom's knowledge of networking that we were able to get things back on track again. Tom also donated an extremely nice computer to The HeliOS Project. That computer found a home yesterday.

Thank you Tom.

And David, as you know...your computer found a home too. Of course, you knew that already.

This is the part I struggled with David.

Seven letters.

Seven letters that make up your last name. You have no idea how I've agonized over typing those seven letters in this blog.

I so dearly want to.

You sanctimonious piece of trash.

Let me enlighten the others reading this blog David. Let me explain to them what I am talking about.

As I am of the habit of doing, I email people who have donated their computers or money enough to build one complete computer, with the name of the recipient and a short bio. It's simply our way of showing folks where their efforts and generosity are going. Our friend David it seems, has a problem with the recipient of his donated computer. Yes, David wasn't at all happy with our choice. The child is in a single parent home and not living in a neighborhood many of us would feel comfortable entering. Fact is, I was a bit aprehensive myself going there. The boy was elated with his computer. Unfortunately, David didn't much appreciate our canidate for his machine.

Dear Mr. Starks, Had I known you were going to waste my perfectly good computer on an idiot, I would have never donated it. You can be assured you will receive no more support from me. I trusted your judgement more than I should have. David *******

Collin is the boy's name and Collin was born with Downs Syndrome. Apparently, David thinks that a person afflicted with Downs Syndrome is wasted human flesh.

David, as a self-described Linux Geek and FOSS supporter, I could absolutely ruin your day with one name. One of the most gifted and talented members of our community has Downs Syndrome. Google it. I'll not bring his good name into this.

And yet I still struggle...for I've not yet signed off of this blog and I still itch to make the world aware of who you are...not that any one would recognize you...

I simply want to punish you for being who you are.

In all David, I have given it some thought and you are right. Collin was not deserving of the machine you donated to him. In fact, I left his house at 4 PM this afternoon with your computer in my arms and placed it in my car.

I hope you are happy.

In it's place, I installed a brand new HP A6560.

With 17 inch Viewsonic monitor.

And Bose Sub-Woofer sound System.

Here is the best part David. I told Collin and Marcy, his mother, that you had given it some serious thought and in doing so, decided that a used computer wasn't going to do. I told them that you said Collin deserved much more than a used, frankenstein machine and that you were happy to help someone with Collin's obvious intelligence and talent. He is quite an accomplished little artist at his young age David.

I am going to be eating a lot of mac and cheese the rest of the month David. I paid for that computer and monitor out of my pocket and it took almost everything I had saved to do it but you know what?

It was worth it.

And I would do it again.

The world is full of "Idiots" like Collin.

It grieves me to know the world is full of people like you as well David.

All-Righty Then...