We are just passed the time of year when we give thanks (in the US anyway) and we are coming up on the time when we all try and be giving.  I feel like my last few blog posts have been a little too negative and want to make up for that.  So, I want to say thank you to some people for what I have in my professional world.

Daniel deGrandpre and Richard Moss, dealnews.com
I have known both these guys since I was a kid.  I was so excited when they offered me a full time job working on the internet.  I was in a Dilbert world and they rescued me.  Richard gave me the best recommendation I have ever heard.  I listed Richard as a reference for the job I had before dealnews.com.  The interviewer told me that when she asked Richard why she should hire me, he said "Because if I had the money, he would be working for me."  A year later, when I told her I was leaving she asked where I was going.   I happily told her, "Remeber that guy?  He has the money."  Thanks Dan and Rich.

Rasmus Lerdorf, Zeev Suraski, Andi Gutmans and other PHP contributors
I was coding Visual Basic when I found PHP.  It was really cool to write code that could make these web pages with such ease.  It made sense and did exactly what I needed it to do.  With each version it has gotten better.  Despite any conflicts on some mailing list, PHP and its community stays the best tool for the job.  Thanks to anyone that has ever helped with that.

Monty Widenius, Brian Aker, Jay Pipes and others at MySQL
Along side PHP has been MySQL all the way.  Early on it was msql, but that did not last long.  Like PHP, MySQL has endured criticism and scrutiny to remain the best too for the job.  It has also gotten better with every year and I feel honored to be a part of the MySQL community if only from the edge.  I even started pronounceing it right this year at MySQL Conference.  (It's my-s-q-l in case you didn't know)

Apache Foundation
There are lots of people in this group that have given time to make my professional life what it is today.  I was a little active in the community a few years back, but have had little personal experience with the Apache foundation recently.  I still appreciate everyone that has had a part in it.

Thomas Seifert and Maurice Makaay, my Phorum cohorts
Last but in no way least are these two guys.  I had some help here and there with Phorum for the first few years.  But, Thomas has been on the team since 2001.  He took Phorum to a new level by adding user logins and other things he needed.  Maurice has been with us as a user for a while and a team member for a few years now.  Like Thomas, he has brought Phorum up a level.  Besides help with Phorum, they are great friends and another resource I can tap for help when I am confused about things.