about when NASA called me up to say…

“We’d like you to come to Houston and talk to us about Linux on Laptops on the Space Station”

I said, “No.”

(sound of crickets chirping)

They said, “HEY, this is NASA calling.. get your butt on an airplane and get down here, and bring someone smart with you, since you are not listening.”

So, I got my buddy Walt to go with me.

To “tune us up” as Detective Sipowits used to say on that police TV show… they took us on a tour, assigned an astronaut to us to explain things, and made us realize we need to take their request seriously.

So, we listened to their reasons for what they wanted to do. And, to be honest, they actually had thought through what they wanted and why it was the right idea.

And, they were right.

So, we said, “Yes.”

I asked the Astronaut to come to LinuxWorld with me and explain what they were doing, and he asked me to go to Moscow to explain to the RSA what they needed to do.

For lots of reasons, neither trip happened, but the laptops running Linux are now in low earth orbit.

They are vintage 2002 machines, so in a few years, 2009, they will need to be replaced. Probably. Unless they are working just fine.

How long do you keep your laptop? NASA keeps theirs MUCH longer.