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Comment by kmfrk | Hacker News Reader

This is Paul (fucking) Lutus for people who might just miss the username.

For those who don't know who Paul Lutus is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Lutus

Some key parts: "Lutus designed electronics for the NASA Space Shuttle and created a mathematical model of the solar system that was used by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory during the Viking Mars mission" and then "... he started writing computer programs on his first personal computer, an Apple II. In the 80s, he would eventually program Apple Writer,"

I also recommend his book about sailing around the world "Confessions of a Long-Distance Sailor"!

Another great book about the same topic (sailing around the world), albeit written in a slightly different time: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailing_Alone_Around_the_World

And a third, with a slightly different ending, that may serve as a signpost to geeks with a predilection to romanticize working alone: The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst (http://www.amazon.com/Strange-Last-Voyage-Donald-Crowhurst/d...)

Same race, better outcome: http://books.google.com/books/about/The_Long_Way.html?id=rgK...

Wow, thanks for pointing out that connection. I enjoyed reading that book years ago -- I recommend it for anyone with any interest in sailing.

> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailing_Alone_Around_the_World

Yes, the Joshua Slocum book, a classic well worth reading.

My book isn't in the same league, but it's developed a loyal following over the years -- it's online and free:

http://arachnoid.com/sailbook

My all-time favorite sailing book quote, from a book titled "Never Again", about a sail in the terrifying "South 40s" near Antarctica: "After the mast blew off, the boat become much more stable." :)

I read your book online years ago, and it hasn't left my head yet. The seeds of an eventual goal have been planted!

Hey, what book is that quote from? I can't really find anything using "never again". Thanks!

Okay, I just did some research on this, and I must have misremembered the title. The closest I can come to where I believe I got this quote is:

"Cape Horn: One Man's Dream, One Woman's Nightmare"

http://www.amazon.com/Cape-Horn-Dream-Womans-Nightmare/dp/09...

But I have to say, I've been telling that story for 25 years now, and honestly, I can't be sure the above is the title that contains the quote.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Lutus

And also:

http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/9xgnd/iama_little_diff...

http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/q9qzn/iama_former_nasa...

Responding to a dead comment by stallker:

stallker 4 hours ago | link [dead]

Why 'f * ing'? (Sorry, I'm italian... of course I know the meaning of the word, but I would like to know why do you use it for Paul Lutus, TIA)

I'm not the OP, but in some circles the four-letter expletive is used to emphasize the importance or intensity of something. E.g. "William [freaking] Shatner" means the original, unique, William Shatner, not some other William Shatner. "So [freaking] good!" means extremely good.

Hey I think I met this guy. I was in Houston for a NASA internship, he had a telescope set up in front of a Barnes & Noble, and he was introducing random passers by to a view of Jupiter (or Saturn) in the telescope.

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