Candlelight vigil for Techman.

Aye. He always made me laugh.
He had his opinions, and he didn't care who knew them. I admired that.

Heh. Techman. He was stubborn and frustrating and closed-minded. But you knew that if push came to shove, he probably would've gotten out of bed at 4am to come give you a jump-start (whether he was being paid to or not).

Pretty much my thoughts on him as well.



When I get to heaven
Saint Peter's gonna say
"How'd you earn your livin' boy?
How'd you earn your pay?"
I'll reply with a whole lot of anger,
"I made my living as an Airborne Ranger!
Blood, guts, sex and danger
That's the life of an Airborne Ranger!"

When I get to hell
Satan's gonna say
"How'd you earn your livin' boy?
How'd you earn your pay?"
I'll reply with a boot to his face
"I made my living sending souls to this place!"

A 21-smiley salute to Tech:





I hope no one minds my [-]infamous[/-] smiley abuse today.

What terribly sad news

I never can say anything eloquent in times like this. He was one-of-a-kind on this board, and will be missed.

I'll miss you a lot.

Stubborn, pain in the ass, opinionated...

Lots of variations are being thrown out, but what it really comes down to, and why Techman had so much respect even from those who vehemently disagreed with him and his beliefs, is that Tom was at his core a man of conviction.

And that trait becomes rarer as more people become more concerned with how they appear than being who they are. Techman was always Techman and he never pretended otherwise.

Just another reason he will be missed.

I'm struck by something very interesting in these tributes. It says something about a man (or woman) when those who disagree with him go out of their way to say how much they respect him. When those who disagree go out of their way to say how much they respect and like him, that says even more. 53 is far too young, (not much older than I am)

I know a civilian isn't supposed to salute a soldier, but here's one for you Techman. *salute*

mm

He was one of those guys who's always seemed to be a permanent Internet fixture. No matter which of these semi-connected boards you frequent, you know Techman.

It just doesn't seem possible that he's gone. 53 is way too young.

missmanners, my condolences go to you and everyone who loved him.

And Techman, thank you for your service to this country.

As many have already said - I may not have always agreed with him but I always knew there was a real person behind the poster. And that person was a very nice guy. R.I.P.

Well... crap.

I hope there are engines in Heaven. And that the Big Fella lets 'em break down so our Big Fella can fix 'em.

Rest well Tom and thank you.

Logged on, saw the banner, and thought oh no...
I think I only ever agreed with him on religion, but I'll miss him.
MM I'm so sorry

It's the first time I ever cried while using PaintShop.

I just saw this from TK. I loved watching the banter between him and other posters. I loved thinking about he and mm together. I am saddened by this news. (((((((((((((miss manners))))))))))))))

I'm ... flabbergasted.

Odd for me to cry for someone I've never met, but his impact was great.

Rest In Peace Sarge, you will be sorely missed.

My condolences for your loss MM, and if there's anything at all.....

I'm just lost for words.

Hardly know what to say. He was always the first one to disagree when he didn't like something (especially religion, homosexuality and drugs), but he never trolled. Even though he was often accused of it, his opinions were his own and he posted them unashamedly, not caring who thought less of him for thinking what he thought. Even when you don't share the opinions, you have to admire that.

It's hard to believe he won't be around any more. Admins, please don't lock his account. I don't think I could bear to see a red "banned" under his name on his old posts, no matter how old.

And he will forever be imortalized by one of the coolest smilies on the board:

One of the saddest days in WF history, if not the saddest.

​

Someone should do a last roll call for caht.

aWell, shit Thomas. What the hell did you have to go and die for? Where am I going to get my fill of crap lawyer jokes from?

What can one say about Tech that hasn't already been said? Well, from my point of view maybe more than you realise.

Tech, like a few select others here, was a poster I always played off of and sparred with. But unlike others, who shall remain nameless, I never lost any respect for Tech. This is because despite his somewhat backward views on some issues I always knew that he was a man of integrity and that when it came to the crunch he would stick by what he believed in when others flaked.

Tech and I were also more similar than I care to admit. We were both very opinionated, grouchy at times, both liked a drink in our day and both thought that religion was a crock of shit. Maybe most importantly I have always prided myself on being a guy who'd be there for my loved ones when the shit hit the fan and I know he was the same sort of man. For this reason I even invited him out for lunch when I was last in Chicago (although the lazy sod couldn't be bothered to get the train from Indianapolis ) because I knew that despite how we were on the board we'd get on pretty well in real life. It's a shame the oppurtunity won't come again.

I'm not a military man so I can't say much about that, nor it is particularly comfortable for me as a Brit to get to militaristically patriotic. Instead I'll offer the more reserved British way of remembering our servicemen. But before all I can say is that I'm miss you ya big poof.....

Maybe a new status could be created, say some black pips for those lost in the line?

^ I'm out of rep, like just about everyone else who found their way into this thread, but I love your sig, Chup.

​

I didn't know him well enough, but I'll be damned if losing him isn't making me bawl my eyes out. Everyone has said pretty much all that I could've and he will be sorely missed. For me, what I remember most is jumping into chat and reading about his lasting cooking adventure which was seemingly always chicken and seemingly always baked and never fried. It is a shame I didn't know him better.

They say only the good die young, and from what I've read here and what little I experienced personally Techman, Tom if I may, was a great man.

Rest well Techy.

Techman was someone I never got along with on TBBS, but after coming here and interacting with him in a different atmosphere, came to respect and see as a good man.

He never seemed to hold a grudge or take anything too personally. He was the sort of person you could disagree with vehemently in the Red Room one minute, then banter comfortably with in chat the next.

So long, and if it turns out that you and I are both wrong about God, may he watch out for you.

This one's for you, big guy

My mind has been wandering all this morning now that I've read the news and it took me a while to compose myself well enough to go grab some of our customer orders. While walking around collecting them I conjured up some creativity- this is for Techman


"When we were children
We always thought
Our fathers were immortal men.

That though they left us
During the day
They would be home again .

Though in this mourning
We fear not
Of losing our dear friend.

Though Tom is lost
And gone away
He is headed home again.

Rest in Peace
Tom "Techman"
1954-2007