Great to get some more attention on this!

On the side, are they really accurate about 263,000 presently-active computers? Seems high.

Tis indeed good to get good press. I have participated in a few grid projects way back, such as Anthrax, but never on quite the same scale I’m trying right now. Every day I look around to see what other Compaq and HP ProLiant servers (insert shameless plug here) I have laying around that can be made available to such a worthwhile cause. I haven’t run out of systems quite yet, but it’s time consuming to get them configured. Some days I just don’t have the time. Some days I get one done. Other days, I get three or four done. Some days, I get none done, and those are the days I feel like I’ve missed something.

I’m focusing on FAAH, although the protease project is also quite important. I have a very important (and perhaps a little selfish) reason for joining FAAH. While I’m HIV-negative, I do have a friend who is HIV-positive. Whenever I see him, I’m thankful for that opportunity. He’s a wonderful person, and I hope I’m able to enjoy his company for many years to come. The reality is he’s not doing quite as well as he used to. It worries me. If me setting up whatever computers I can will add so much as a day to his life, it’s worth it.

Millions of people worldwide are affected by AIDS and other diseases. When you personally know someone affected, it puts a face on each of those millions of people. They stop being some nameless or faceless statistic in Africa, or Asia, or wherever. They become a little more real.

I intend on keeping whatever systems I can running as long as I’m able. I’m never sure how long that’s going to be. Every day I generate points I feel I’m making some kind of a difference. No matter how many points I can generate… 60,000…. Or 600…. I’ll keep doing what I can. If everyone who has lost someone to, or knows someone who is under attack from, AIDS, or cancer, or so many other diseases would donate some of their “extra” computer time for either project we’d make some terrific leaps forward.

Besides… by crunching the best we can we may save a life… and the live we save may be a family member, a friend, a coworker, or… our own.

Wow… I can be long winded. Sorry ‘bout that. Sometimes I just get a little emotional.