[kovacs]

Like a couple of other mutual friends who've posted here, I've known Bob about 20 years. We met at a conference and became friends. While we never worked together we'd talk about whatever we were working on, or language/framework features, code style, etc. He was a machine that would delve deeply into anything out of an abundance of curiosity and he would sometimes be tough to keep up with on a topic he knew deeply that required a bit more context I didn't have.

That curiosity and enthusiasm spilled over into anything he did, including supporting his friends in their endeavors. He'd be the first to cheer you on and brag about you or what you were doing to other friends, almost to the point of embarrassment where he believed in you or your project more than you did, LOL.

It was like being around the sun and constant solar flares of positivity, almost like my golden retriever LOL... He was unlike anyone else I'd experienced in my 22 years in tech in SF. We had bonded over both being midwest boys and there was an unspoken bond between us that endured no matter how long it'd been since we last spoke. We knew and acknowledged that each of us was an oasis for one another from the funhouse mirror that is bay area technology. We could each exhale and be ourselves with no posturing. And if anyone had any reason to posture at all it was Bob. Everything he did was a winner and all that success never once went to his head.

So while Bob was a great engineer/technologist, he was a greater man who truly lived life by the golden rule and would've been successful in anything he chose to do. It still hasn't fully hit me that he's gone, and I can't imagine what Krista and the girls are going through right now along with the rest of Bob's family.

My heart goes out to all of them and anyone else that knew him well. Thank you Bob. Thank you for believing in me always and for being a great friend. The world needs you and more people like you. RIP... until we meet again buddy...