You opened the door to this cyberworld in which I have now lived for the better part of my years on this planet. You introduced me to this life of tech-savvy geekery that captured me in its Web and helped lead me to who, what, where, why, and how I am today.

Computers were always our starting point, our common ground, our shared language. I think for a while, you were close to giving up on me and my timid, clumsy ways around a computer. It wasn’t long, though, before I fell into the binary rhythm and began to hold my own in our conversations about the bigger-better-faster computer bug that had now bitten us both. You always indulged me, custom-meeting my every CPU craving, from 286 right through to dual core Athlon-ed gigs of geeky gamer goodness. I’m forever a PC Girl because of your influence.

You indulged us all regardless of how silly our passions, welcomed us into your home (whether for a dinner or a summer), accepted us for all our familial weirdness (with minor ribbing, of course; that’s what family does). Fleetwood Mac owed you huge for turning me into another of their lifelong fans. So did Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart.

You also fathered and helped raise two of my absolute favorite people in this whole universe.

You were a great big guy with an even greater, bigger heart. You’ll always be the Tech Guru in my Geek Pantheon.

I love you, Uncle E