Remembering Justin Wojdacki (1976-2004)

I met Justin at some point in 2000 through mutual friends from the University of Michigan who had moved out to the San Francisco Bay Area. We started hanging out together every Thursday night through the dinner club he had helped migrate from U of M. Soon it became twice a week, gathering over at our friend Mike's place to catch the latest Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode or to watch a movie in the off season. At one point we started hanging out every Wednesday night as well, just to jam on our guitars together. And then of course there were the occasional weekend events such as ski retreats, BBQ's or watching U of M football games on TV. With common tastes, enthusiasm, and appreciation for food, music, and computers, it's easy to understand how we ended up spending so much time together over the past 5 years. Justin was fairly camera-shy so I don't have many photographs of him, but here are a few snapshots that span most of the time that I knew him. We miss you already, Justin.

Defcon 0x09 @ Las Vegas, NV 2001-07-13 15:20:07 -0700 One of the earliest photos I have of Justin. Here he's chilling with Andy, Mike and Phil in Mimezine HQ.	Defcon 0x09 @ Las Vegas, NV 2001-07-13 18:37:20 -0700 I believe this shot was at Benihana. Rarely just smiling for the camera, Justin hams it up by feeding his face with a little Japanese cuisine.	Defcon 0x09 @ Las Vegas, NV 2001-07-14 20:16:47 -0700 Another shot with Justin hamming it up. Here Mike, Justin, Hugh and Andy are watching the Defcon channel on closed circuit television in the second half of Mimezine HQ.
First Night @ Santa Cruz, CA 2001:12:31 22:04:28 Justin, Dave, Mike and Jennifer pose for a shot while wandering the streets of Santa Cruz on New Years Eve.	First Night @ Santa Cruz, CA 2001:12:31 22:04:40 Here's a rare shot of Justin actually smiling for the camera.	First Night @ Santa Cruz, CA 2001:12:31 23:09:49 Justin can't wait to sip up his drink at the coffee house.
First Night @ Santa Cruz, CA 2002:01:01 01:01:11 Later in the evening, Max joined Jennifer, myself, David, Justin and Mike to ring in the new year. This shot was taken a minute into 2002.	Ski Retreat @ Caples Lake, CA 2003:01:31 23:41:39 Here's Justin hanging out with Mike (hidden behind Justin), Amy, Rob, Wiley, and Robert in a rented cabin at the Caples Lake Resort, just minutes from Kirkwood. The first four had just learned how to ski and/or snowboard that year.	SIVADC Potluck @ Sunnyvale, CA 2003:03:07 00:41:41 One of a series of photos of Justin at one of our few dinner club potluck dinners, this one being held at Jennifer's and my apartment. Justin had participated in a dinner club back in college at the University of Michigan and helped get one started out in Silicon Valley.
SIVADC Potluck @ Sunnyvale, CA 2003:03:07 00:42:00 A shot of Justin in mid-conversation.	SIVADC Potluck @ Sunnyvale, CA 2003:03:07 00:42:08 Another shot of Justin in mid-conversation.	July 4th BBQ @ San Francisco, CA 2003:07:04 17:40:41 This is my favorite shot of Justin. It suits his personality and outlook on life so well. It was taken at an impromptu 4th of July gathering at Robert's place in San Francisco.
July 4th BBQ @ San Francisco, CA 2003:07:04 17:42:09 Robert, Justin, Amy, and Mike grillin' some dogs among the laughs. Notice the long pants, long sleeves and jackets. It was a cold summer day, even for San Francisco.	July 4th BBQ @ San Francisco, CA 2003:07:04 18:39:31 Mike, Amy, Rob, Justin and Robert chowin' down. Justin was being particularily shy with the camera.	Garlic Festival @ Gilroy, CA 2003:07:26 15:29:18 Mike (taking the photo), Justin and I took a trip down to the Gilroy Garlic Festival, something you really should see once in your life ala Wall Drug. Here Justin and I are partaking in the pleasures of Burgundy Cherry and Garlic ice cream served in cantaloupe bowls.
Defcon 0x0B @ Las Vegas, NV 2003:07:31 23:18:13 Justin made the pilgrimage to Las Vegas for Defcon many times over the years. Here Matt and Robert chill with him among the growing piles of empty Red Bull cans.	Defcon 0x0B @ Las Vegas, NV 2003:08:02 20:54:06 Here are a bunch of the Mimezine yahoos (too many to mention) hanging out before Hacker Jeopardy. Defcon was a yearly ritual for most of the guys, as most of them are spread out across the US and only communicate over IRC.	Kayaking @ Santa Cruz, CA 2003:08:10 12:29:09 Mike, Jennifer, Sandy, Leon and Justin hang out at the pier in Santa Cruz. We had signed up to take surfing lessons several weeks before but that fell through when the surf was all but non-existent.
Kayaking @ Santa Cruz, CA 2003:08:10 12:40:23 So instead of surfing, we rented sea kayaks for a few hours that afternoon. Sandy, Leon, Justin, Jennifer, Mike and myself pose with our paddles and life jackets.	Kayaking @ Santa Cruz, CA 2003:08:10 13:03:43 Justin checks out the sea life from his kayak.	Kayaking @ Santa Cruz, CA 2003:08:10 14:13:01 Justin returns from his trip out to sea with the Santa Cruz shoreline as his backdrop.
Moving Tom & Mo @ Campbell, CA 2003:08:16 12:00:35 Justin was known for lending a hand whenever any of his friends were moving. His blue Ford pick-up truck was a key tool for transporting many of our larger items. Here he is loading a moving truck with Eric while helping Tom and Maureen move to Mountain View.	Moving Tom & Mo @ Mountain View, CA 2003:08:16 15:22:57 Justin dropping off a box in Tom and Maureen's new apartment.	Summer BBQ @ Stinson Beach, CA 2003:08:24 15:09:28 Brad, Justin and Robert appear to have injected some testosterone into the game of Petanque.
Summer BBQ @ Stinson Beach, CA 2003:08:24 15:11:41 Justin, Robert and Brad playing Petanque at the Stinson Beach BBQ.	Summer BBQ @ Stinson Beach, CA 2003:08:24 15:11:49 More Petanque action from Justin, Brad and Robert.	Summer BBQ @ Stinson Beach, CA 2003:08:24 15:14:08 Justin was known for his yummy fruit salads at the BBQ's. There's not much left of this one.
SIVADC Dinner @ Palo Alto, CA 2004:02:26 21:44:36 Not so much a photo of Justin as a photo by him, this one is of myself and my daughter Kaija after dinner club at Thai Garden in Palo Alto. Justin had recently purchased the pocket-sized Canon PowerShot SD10 digital camera and had started carrying it where ever he went.	Summer BBQ @ Sunnyvale, CA 2004:09:06 19:23:25 One of the last photos I have of Justin. My wife Jennifer took this shot at the end-of-summer BBQ we threw at Serra Park in Sunnyvale on Labor Day weekend. It was a very hot day and we didn't have enough ice or coolers for all of the drinks, so Justin and Gale volunteered to run to Safeway to pick some up.	Summer BBQ @ Sunnyvale, CA 2004:09:06 19:04:16 Another favorite shot of mine, here Justin and my daughter Kaija seem to be sharing a happy moment among friends at the end of the day. Pictured from left to right are Maureen, Tom, Gale, Kaija, Loi, Justin and Max.