Now that WeaselTech is being used by multiple guilds, you may not know who I am. You may be asking yourself "Who is this Weasel guy and what does he have to do with the basin?". Hello, I am AllWeasel. That's my forum handle, not a description of my ethical behavior, by the way. I designed, coded and continue to maintain this part of the amazon basin community (WeaselTech) as a tribute to everyone that is responsible for random acts of kindness. I dedicate this site to the users; to the true spirit of the basin. On this page, I try to acknowledge the many other contributions to WeaselTech (or me) from my kind and talented friends.
If you would like to contribute your talents or ideas directly, please PM me. I love original artwork! If you'd like to support my efforts indirectly, just toss some WeaselSnax in my direction whenever it feels right. It's amazing how much good can come from a random act of kindness. If you can afford to do so, I urge you to support the basin fund drive (which they hold once or twice a year) or use the basin store.
This page started off as a fairly dull credits page, but it seems to have turned itself into an eclectic (perhaps sappy) culmination of things that I felt like saying.
Teeka: Teeka found me, introduced me to the basin, and later sponsored my membership in the D2 guild. Without him, I would never have met you, much less created WeaselTech. Teeka, you crusty old buzzard, I miss you man.
Hooie: Hooie coined the term WeaselTechTM shortly after I created the password page for the D2 guild. We owe him a little nod of recognition for all things Weasel-ish. After he first used the term WeaselTech, I've milked his idea mercilessly over and over.
Flick: Flick created all of the icons used in the menus and pop-windows. He was a great resource for tweaking the HTML in cross-platform pages. He was also a great help for debugging the IE 5.x browser bugs on both the PC and Mac platforms. I remember many a night working until three in the morning with this guy.
imbtf: Initially for contributing short, elegant HTML. Lately, for designing and writing entire WeaselTech pages.
BugBoy: Always suggesting improvements and being ever vigilant that the WT pages are compliant with the standards.
ReptileHouse: In addition to being a guild admin, ReptileHouse is a server op (in all his spare time [snicker]). His experience and Linux knowledge have proven to be invaluable over the years that he's been quietly working to keep the server operations going smoothly. One of less than a handfull of people that have the "sacred keys" to the server; ReptileHouse is perhaps the least public of the server ops, but he's trusted and talented all the same.
nlx3647: Nlx3647 is the unknown soldier when it comes to server ops. This guy does more things for more people than you can imagine. Like all of our server ops, he drops what he's doing and spends insane hours fixing things behind the scenes so that none of us even notice that there was a problem. When *I* need something done, I call nlx3647. That should tell you something.
Zendragon: Zen is always there with smart advice and a unique point of view. TPJ's right-hand man, Zen has donated countless hours to server operations and keeping this place running (in all manner of ways). You could talk all night long and still not say enough good things about Zen.
Sadira: In my darkest moments, I'd feel a gentle tap on my shoulder. When I found the courage to open my eyes, Sadira was there holding a candle for me. My sweetheart, my sunshine; Dira never fails to tease a smile from this tired old face.
Needlehawk: I knew that Needlehawk was a very special person as soon as I had read my first post of hers. A constant source of good ideas, good advice, good troubleshooting and good friendship. She's not afraid to knock me upside the head when I'm being a jerk, which is arguably her greatest contribution to WeaselTech. I don't know if they broke the mold after making her, but I know that you could spend a whole lifetime looking; and still not find a friend as good as Needlehawk.
Ancient1: Special recognition for getting up at an insanely early hour every day and rotating all those game passwords for - like - EVER. Also, for keeping the "special games" web page up to date. And my own personal thanks for raising a daughter like Needlehawk.
Sappy Alert: Members of the female persuasion are advised to go get the box of kleenix before you read past this point.
The nameless heros part 1: Once upon a time, there was a guy named AW. He broke his back in a freak motocross accident. He flipped his bike upside down and fell some 20 feet to the ground; landing on his "posterior artifact". He compression-fractured five vertibrae, landing with such force as to burst-fracture one of them into small bone shards. Unbelievably, AW did not think he had done any permanent damage (AW is way too stubborn and none too bright). After his son convinced him to go to the hospital (the next day), the ambulance crew dropped AW as they carried him down the stairs. As his weight came crashing towards his feet, the bone shards cut into his spinal cord with a fire that can't be described with words.
The spine severed, the surgery performed, the shards removed, the titanium installed, the morphine prescribed, and the physical therapy endured; AW assessed his new life over the next 2 years. He was jobless. He was homeless. He lost everything that he had ever owned. He lost the custody of his beloved son. He was destitute. He was hopeless. Nay, worse than that, he had truly lost hope. He longed for the day when the nightmare would end, and the pain would stop; but not in a good way. AW was a broken man.
The nameless heros part 2: As would be expected in a fairy tale, his friends rallied by his side to help in any way they could. But in this extraordinary fairy tale, an on-line community of virtual people joined in to help. Not even knowing AW, nor the full depth of the crisis, these people sent kind words, and compassion. Astonishingly, they also sent real money. As if that isn't hard enough to believe, the money was enough to buy AW's food for several months and it kept him alive. More than just the food, the community's gift of hope could not be ignored. AW was so moved by this gift of kindness that he no longer prayed for darkness; he struggled to find the light of hope. He vowed that the community's gift would not be wasted.
Every fairy tale needs a hero: While chatting in the basin IRC channel, Icemage_999 saw some redeeming feature in AW (God only knows what). He convinced his boss to interview AW, and then he convinced AW to move to Florida and work with him. In an incredible leap of faith (by both Icemage and AW), AW hugged his son goodbye and boarded the plane (using the ticket that Icemage had sent). He arrived pennyless in Florida, carrying everything he owned; a backpack full of clothes and a sleeping bag. Icemage watched over AW until he was back on his feet. [Editor's note:] When you stand in line to get into heaven, look past all the others in front of you. If you squint really hard, you'll see Icemage; waaaay up there in front of the gates.
The nameless heros part 3: All good fairy tales have a happy ending. This one ends with AW getting a job and finally getting back on his feet. The spine will never heal, and the demons still chase him; but he's alive. He has a job. He has a home. He has hope. He has friends. That's a good place to start.
I never really believed in fairy tales, but there isn't a day gone by that I don't think about the nameless heros in this one. I'm forever moved and forever grateful to each and every one of you "virtual" people.
TPJ: It all begins and ends with James. He was the ring leader of those nameless heros and remains the inspiration for everything that we do around here. I don't know what else I could say, he's a legend; and rightly so.
My oldest son: He reminded his father that it's ok for a dad to falter; but you have to get up again. "That's the rules, dad."
