

First off...



Thank you.



From the deepest part of my being, the place where all the Love and the Hope and the Joy within me dwells...



Thank you.



The outpouring of support and Love has been tearfully humbling and I cannot, in my most emotional and creative moments, express to you my gratitude. All I can do is promise you that I will live up to your expectations of me.



Notice the emphasis on "Live".



When I lost my job months back, I spent a lot of time in prayer and thought...through those mechanisms, I came to realize that trying to run The HeliOS Project from behind the wheel of a truck wasn't getting the job done. I knew we could do more.



With a leap of faith, I just started doing it full time. I am divorced with minimal child support, and that is thanks to my still-loving ex-wife Debbie. And no...I can't 'splain it...it just is. My needs are meager and I live as such. I would rather devote what I have to what I do. My deepest thanks go to David and Dee Rodriguez for making this possible.



I only have one real focus:



I want to make sure that every disadvantaged kid in Austin Texas has an up-to-date and Linux-Powered computer.



It's just that simple. It is my calling...it is my passion.



But, as I have recently found out, even passion must be metered in moderation.



So it's time to face some facts.



I can no longer build/repair and deliver 3-5 computers a day. I've been professionally warned and that warning was dire.



Bleak.



I believe I will heed wise counsel now.



So...The HeliOS Project is going to be making some logistical changes. Here is what we are going to need if we are to survive.



I need some truly dedicated people. And please, not to be flippant, look up "dedicated" before you commit to working with us.



See...we're not just giving computers away, we are brutally smashing open an opportunity that has been locked away from these kids. Be it through locked-down and proprietary software, lousy parenting, mismanaged finances or just being plain poor, I personally don't give a damn.



They will have a Linux-Powered computer...and they will have it just as soon as we can get it to them.



Now I need your help to do it.



Qualifications and rules.



*Commitment - let me know when you are available so I can coordinate the installation.

Being there means being there.



*No child-related misconduct convictions. We must check to protect ourselves.



*Absolute knowledge of Linux Distributions and networking procedures.



*Installers are never alone in the home or the room without one of their parents or guardians present.



Those are not tough things...I spent 6 hours in a large installfest with 50 local folks who easily matched them.



I don't mean to come off as authoritarian or being a jerk...these are just the things that have to be in order to keep what we do alive.



If you want to be part of the best thing someone could ever do, email me icanhelp@fixedbylinux.com. I am inviting you to come join the most joyful and fulfilling endeavor I have ever experienced. The pay sucks...



And oh...but we'll pay your gas most times.



All-Righty Then

