I've been doing some work on an Open Source project. (CyberCalendar, if you must know).

I started answering some questions about the program, from my own experience in using it. I also wrote a few utility programs to do some nifty things that the program wasn't originally able to do.

The main beneficiary of my work was KSNT-27, an NBC affiliate based out of Topeka, Kansas.

Yes, the middle of nowhere.

What my work did is makes the calendar on the front page of their site display a list of community events. No big deal.

Well, to them, it was a big deal. And being the nice people that they are, they sent me a mousepad. It's a nice mousepad too. It has their logo "27 News, Coverage you can count on" across the top, and www.ksnt.com along the bottom. It's purty.

You see, they didn't have to do a single thing for me, except leave my copyright notice in the source code, and distribute the source code that I helped write if they distribute the program.

This is the beauty of the GNU General Public Licesnse. This is what makes Free (as in beer/speech) Software things like Linux (and the GNU tools that go along with it).

All I get is the good feeling that the code I wrote is going to benefit mankind. And it will be open for all to see for all time. Oh, and I have a purty mousepad too.

Damn, I'd better go back and fix that code. If it's going to be out for everyone to see, I don't want my fly left down. ;-)