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Jim Weirich, Creator of Rake, Has Passed Away

Posted by timothy on from the always-sad-news dept.

SirLurksAlot writes "News is beginning to circulate on Twitter and various sites that Jim Weirich, the creator of Rake, has passed away at the age of 58. He was an active developer (his last commit in the last 24 hours) and has made many contributions to the Ruby community over the years, as well as being a prolific speaker and teacher. He had a great sense of humor and was beloved by many. He will be greatly missed."

16 of 109 comments (clear)

  1. It was the beta by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    He clicked something and beta came up...

  2. FYI by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Hi, Slashdot has sold out to Dice, and Alice Hill and her MBA goons are working hard to drive to turn this into another Slashington Post.

    http://soylentnews.org/

    Well over 2000 strong now, Dice.

    1. Re:FYI by ldephil · · Score: 3, Funny

      2000 strong, but that seems to be the limit based on the 500 error I saw.

  3. Re:What Now? by Camel+Pilot · · Score: 3, Insightful

    WTF is "Rake" and why should anyone care? I gather it's some sort of Ruby thing, but again, why should anyone care?

    Because Make sucks...

  4. 58 is pretty young by jeffmflanagan · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's cool that he was still coding right up until his death, but that death was much too early.

    Based on the Wikipedia photo It looks like he spent too much time improving his mind, and not enough taking care of his body.

    If you look like Jim, it's time to change your diet and get active if you want a long healthy life. Tech like FitBit and Jawbone can help. Active gaming using Kinect instead of sitting with a controller, and spending 30 min a day weightlifting did wonders for me.

    You'll feel better, think more clearly, and get positive attention from the opposite sex.

    1. Re: 58 is pretty young by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You don't know the details of what happened. I can tell you the answer is more complicated than not spending enough time working on your body. Sometimes, due to other medical conditions, people are unable to get around like they used to when they were younger. This makes other problems harder to tackle.

      By jumping to conclusions about this man, you are proving to be insensitive and offensive and I hope that you take some time and reflect on that.

    2. Re: 58 is pretty young by twdorris · · Score: 2

      Uhhh...or a heart attack at work.

      https://news.ycombinator.com/i...

    3. Re:58 is pretty young by SpankiMonki · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You might want to consider not criticizing people who encourage others to be healthier.

      I don't think posting a directive for people to change their diets and get active if they "look like Jim" (on the day of the guy's death) qualifies as encouraging others to be healthier. Frankly, it comes off as inconsiderate, disrespectful and condescending.

      But thanks for your concern about everyone's health. I'm sure your internet encouragements are working wonders.

    4. Re:58 is pretty young by SpankiMonki · · Score: 2

      Ir's the best time. Tragedy, and 'close calls' is the best motivator to get people started exercising.

      Tragedy and close calls that aren't close to home don't motivate squat. This is slashdot, remember?

      But even if your questionable speculation above is true, you'd have to also assume that Mr. Flanagan has some magical powers that allow him to know the actual cause of Mr. Weirich's death. The fact is, he doesn't know the cause, and neither do you.

      This isn't his funeral, it's slashdot.

      Are you actually defending Flannigan's post? Do you really believe his completely unfounded supposition of the cause of Weirich's death? Or are you just defending idiotic behavior in general?

  5. Shocked by Bill_the_Engineer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I was taken aback when I heard the news. My thoughts go out to his family and friends. My understanding is that it may have been a heart attack.

    You will be missed Jim. RIP.

    --
    These comments are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of my employer or colleagues...
  6. not a surpise - coders should take notice by thetoadwarrior · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It's a great shame that he died so young but let's be honest, this isn't exactly surprising. If you're a developer it seems this outcome is far more likely than you'll live to be happy and fit into your 80's or 90's.

    What's sad is some people will throw away their youth working excessive hours for some employer that won't care about them only to die in their 50's and they won't be famous enough to get all the kind messages like Jim has. Though I'm sure Jim rather be alive than having people saying nice things about him now.

    We should recognise programming isn't necessarily a safe job and demand better rights.

    1. Re:not a surpise - coders should take notice by jeffmflanagan · · Score: 2

      Being a developer means that I have to sit in one place for 8 hours a day. What I do for the other 8 hours awake is up to me, and has nothing to do with my employer.

      Like most people here I spend a lot of time on the computer at home as well, but It only takes an hour a day of exercise to stay very fit. I know it can be hard to get motivated to get up and get active, but it's really worth it. You only get one body. Make the most of it.

    2. Re:not a surpise - coders should take notice by BetterThanCaesar · · Score: 2

      There's actually a lot of evidence that sitting down the majority of your awake time (8+ hours) is itself bad for the body, and cannot be made up for with physical exercise. Working a few hours standing up and being mildly active (i.e. taking walks) during free time is better. Of course, one hour spent at the gym is better than one more hour in the couch. I'm just saying that if you have the opportunity to work standing up, it is likely worth a lot more than you think!

      --
      "Stop failing the Turing test!" -- Dilbert
  7. Re:Time to ban Anonymous Coward? by gIobaljustin · · Score: 2

    as someone that values freedom of speech

    Are you sure about that?

    but is it time for Anonymous Coward to go?

    I don't think so.

    Let's face it... Anonymous Coward adds as much to a meaningful discussion as someone who drives past a coffee shop and yells out, "Look at me!".

    Depends on the post. I've seen plenty of ACs who have posted comments I thought were insightful.

    In the end, your post offended me. Time to ban Slashcrunch? Total lack of respect for my sensibilities.

    --
    Thank you Dave Raggett
  8. Jim will be Missed by newlife007 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Jim was a great guy with a good sense of humor. He was very active in the Linux and Programming here in the Cincinnati area. I have known Jim for over 20 years and he will be missed by many. He was a very avid Ruby supporter and also of OpenSource. It is great to see him mentioned here on Slashdot, but a shame to hear the poor comments made about a man who cared about what he did. Free speech or not, it is nice to be respected.

  9. R.I.P. by Tablizer · · Score: 3, Informative

    I used to debate Jim on Usenet about software design. He was one of the best debate partners I've ever encountered. He was patient, detailed, articulate, asked good questions, and was honest when he could only provide anecdotal information instead of directly inspect-able evidence. (An example is measuring grokkability of code or designs to typical maintenance developers.)

    A good many debaters turn it into a personal credibility battle when faced with anecdote-versus-anecdote impasses. Jim knew to let it go and let the stalemate be.

    We'll miss you Jim! You set a great example.

    -Tablizer

    --
    Table-ized A.I.