I found his blog http://whydoeseverythingsuck.com/ not long before he stopped adding to it, and I found it compelling enough to check back regularly to see if the blogging itch came back to him. Everything sucks just a little bit more today - RIP.
Hank gave me my second job in tech, establishing the Tech Support group for his wonderful Daymaker. He also, in the same moment, introduced me to the thrill of representing something of quality, something of which to be proud, and of bringing something worthy into the world. And of working for someone with a drive to do just that, bring worth and value into the world. He was a visionary, a man of passion and a crusader for that in which he believed. Rest in peace, Hank. You did good. And you did it well.
I met Hank a few times at various NYC tech functions. Really smart (and friendly) guy who had a great understanding and knowledge of the history of computing.
Sad news (and the first death of people within the community that I know).
This is the first time I've been exposed to him. Seems like a great, creative person. Reading about him found me buying "The Design of Everyday Things" and "Don't Make Me Think". I'm totally into usability and interfaces, so his blog has been quite interesting.
I built the first version of platform.org for Hank and his co-founder Jonathan a couple of years ago. He was a real pleasure to work with, and I was very sad to hear this news. :(
I found Hank through his blog, which another poster linked to, years ago and found him to be extremely interesting and insightful. I am very sad to hear about his death.
I wasn't familiar with Hank, but I always find these tragic premature deaths quite sobering. In a subculture where we have so much to do, we are continually distracted from thoughts of our own mortality. Like a morbid holiday, these occasions call attention to the absurdity (in the Camusian sense) of our priorities and efforts in life. I think it would be a fine memorial to use this incident as an inspiration for personal reflection.
