kicad-developers team mailing list archive

[Nick Østergaard <oe.nick@xxxxxxxxx>]

2014-04-23 21:10 GMT+02:00 Dick Hollenbeck <dick@xxxxxxxxxxx>:
> On 04/23/2014 01:18 PM, Jean-Paul Louis wrote:
>> Dick,
>> After seeing your website, I am amazed that you even had spare time to dedicate to Kicad,
>
> Prolific I suppose, especially a while back.  I was blessed with a knack for software.  So
> I won't take credit personally, just acknowledge God's gift.

Thinking of the contributions you have made, I definitely think you
done a lot in a limited ammount of time and has been quite prolific as
you describe it.

> I had no software training in college, I am a Chemical Engineer.   I started a software
> company in 1983 after reading only one book, Kernigan and Richie, a month later.  This was
> 4 years after college.
>
> The crowning achievement in my career of course is what we've done for the United States
> Army Corp. of Engineers, and having been chosen for to retrofit the largest power plant in
> the U.S., the Grand Coulee Dam, and 10 additional of the larger power plants in the U.S.
> The Grand Coulee damn is the largest power plant in the U.S. of any technology, including
> coal, nuclear, gas, whatever.  It's the largest.  And my software runs the whole plant.
>
>   http://softplc.com/solutions/appstories/usace
>
> So how does a guy who had no software in college come into this position?
>
> This is a blessing, and is what can happen when one is *faithful*, dedicated to continuous
> learning, willing to go out on your own, and willing to take care of paying customers.
> (Accurately, I've been described as difficult to work with around here, but KiCad users
> are not paying customers.  Paying customers, those we've been fanatical about supporting.
>  We call it legendary technical support.  I have an EE-Tech who has worked for me for 26
> years, and there is simply no better support guy anywhere.  We both bought into that
> religion in the 1990's.)
>
> Enough of the commercial, some may be sick of it already, sorry.

I think it was interresting to hear your story.