So many have said so much on the passing of Neil Armstrong. I can only add my voice in the hope that he will hear it wherever he has gone.

I will forever remember sitting glued to a small black and white portable television in Manila, in the Philippines. I didn't know it then, but at the same time most of the world watched with me. I also didn't realize then that one of my uncles was in Houston at Mission Control -- he was one of the many who helped plan and run the Apollo program.

What I *did* know after hearing those words -- "The Eagle has landed" -- was that mankind for the first time ever had set foot on another world, that we had broken the bonds that held us to the Earth.

My view of the night sky was forever changed.

From that point on, I knew what I wanted to be. I wanted to be one of the people who changed the world, quietly, with confidence, in league with thousands of others reaching out to do what had never been done before -- not for myself, but for all mankind.

Neil Armstrong was why I became a rocket scientist. He was why I had to leave aerospace when I found myself making weapons, and not exploring new worlds. His example is why I truly love being able to make even minor contributions to the world of open source software, where we give all people the opportunity to explore and to learn. And, occasionally, that software even makes further space flight possible.

But the most important thing I learned from the man who became my hero was that we are all in this together, that his fame was not from who he was but from who we all are, and from what we can accomplish as mankind, and not as just one man. Neil Armstrong was often asked about his role. His reply: "I was just doing my job." To this day, I am not interested in being famous or wealthy or being showered with awards. But, if my colleagues and I can exceed what is expected of us, and I can honestly say "I was just doing my job" then I feel -- if only fractionally, if only fleetingly -- that I have come up to the standard set by Neil Armstrong, and I have done the right thing.

Tonight, I will yet again look at the moon and think of Neil Armstrong, as I have so many nights before. And as his family wishes, I'll even give it a wink.