Today is Dave Winer's (50th) birthday and tomorrow is Dave Jacob's 49th. Both Daves used to live in the San Francisco Bay Area and became best friends, so to distinguish one from the other, Jacobs was called Big Dave and Winer, El Grande. This was way before Starbucks came out with its coffee sizing options, which start with Tall -- as if no one could resist a smaller size.
Similarly, there is no resisting a small dose of either Dave -- they are both larger than life. Both men -- physical giants at over six feet apiece -- are full of a kind of energy that seems to follow Moore's Law: every two years, despite the advances of age and conditions that would kill most mortals, Big Dave and El Grande rebound with more offspring and ideas that would seem possible for even their mythically fecund historical antecedent, King David.
But I've decided what really distinguishes my two Daves -- Mr. Inventor of Everything Cool in Software Dave and Mr. Married with Four Boys, One Wife, and Connoisseur of the Latest in Hi-Tech Gadgets Dave -- is the utter compassion they have for everyone alive. These two boys know how to love (and also hate those who practice cruelty toward people) with a fearless bravado that breaks down the bullshit barriers humanity has been erecting for thousands of years.
If these two Daves had been in Berlin after the Second World War, there would have been no wall, and if they had been in China a few thousand years ago, the Great Wall would have never existed. If you sent them both to Israel, they would have a peace pact with Palestine in less than a week. That's because both know firsthand that life is too short for hate, that great ideas and energy can drive people to new heights, and that the best way to love is to share your soul with everyone else on this planet.
Thank you, Daves. I love you both and wish you many, many more happy birthdays.
I can only hope that when I reach the big five-o, that I have friends as good as you and 'The Daves' with blog posts as good and honest as this :) Happy Daveday!
Posted by: Kosso | May 03, 2005 at 08:30 AM
Happy Daveday! Maybe we should remove our RSS ads on this one day of the year, in honour of the grandfather (he's not that old) of RSS.
Posted by: Randy Charles Morin | May 03, 2005 at 08:51 AM
Dave is really only 32 (in hexadecimal).
Posted by: McD | May 03, 2005 at 10:04 AM
and y in base64.
Posted by: Randy Charles Morin | May 03, 2005 at 11:21 AM
And 10 in base 50!
Posted by: Dave Winer | May 03, 2005 at 12:37 PM