Got a few people I'd like to nominate:
Terrpn
I know I already mentioned him in riot's giveaway thread but I'd like to mention him again. Terrpn has been quite generous in helping me get into the fountain pen hobby. I really enjoy that like terrpn, there are a lot of people on the forum who you can just PM and chat about whatever is on your mind :). Terrpn PMed me out of the blue when he noticed I had taken an interest in fountain pens and has helped me learn much more about this new hobby. And he's gifted me some stunning pens (http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=33130.msg1424748#msg1424748):
I'm gonna nominate terrpn.
He reached out to me after he discovered I was getting into fountain pens. I love chatting about my hobbies so we started talking about this and that. Then one day, he goes, I'm sending you a fountain pen as a surprise.
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(http://i.imgur.com/TQtjGQ4.jpg?1)
He sent me this Pelikan M200 with a Warranted 14K music nib. I was on like QFR level and he sends me this pen that skyrockets me into the next level. Like modded Filco/GON with 65g Clears level. He told me the other day that it was his first Pelikan and now it's my first Pelikan. That's so awesome. This pen will probably never leave my collection. But maybe I'll gift it to someone one day like terrpn did for me.
Melvang
Melvang has been doing a lot of really interesting projects lately. He offered to make a bunch of custom paracord keypullers (http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=54645.msg1356920#msg1356920) to giveaway at Keycon, he's running the Enabler GB so that the community will have another DIY keyboard option, and he recently picked up a mill so that he can expand his projects and offerings. I think he's still working on his custom keyboard and he's perpetually coming up with new cool ideas (Panavise PCB holder?).
And to be honest, how he does all this while working too many hours and raising a family is beyond me. I'm just glad he puts out as much stuff as he does!
Vibex
(http://i.imgur.com/hQC9jWU.jpg)
At Keycon West 2014, Vibex brought his JD40 and unveiled this crazy custom layout that he had devised for himself. We were all so taken with this odd layout that we asked him a ton of questions....and then it snowballed into us telling Vibex he was giving a presentation on it on Day 2. And he totally stepped up and gave a great presentation! I had weeks to prepare for mine and I thought it went poorly but Vibex's couldn't have had much prep and it was great! Major props for the quick planning!
And thank you for the kind words Longzilla, clacktalk, and katushkin <3.
I would also like to nominate Smasher816. He wanted a Bluetooth HHKB, so he decided to do something about it. First, he modded his HHKB with a Teensy, following hasu's circuit diagram. Then he wrote a nice guide to Teensy modding the HHKB (http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=57008.0), so that others in the community could benefit from a step-by-step instruction based on his experience. Then he added a Bluetooth mod (http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=58718.0) to his HHKB, again following hasu's diagrams. He brought the BT HHKB with him to Keycon West so that others could try it out, and he left the case unbolted, so that we could look at the inside. Smasher816 is very enthusiastic about the community here, and he has the pioneer spirit of a true Maker.
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(https://i.imgur.com/6ELIsnP.jpg)
Thanks JD. I am humbled.
I keep putting off the bluetooth guide, but I promise I will finish it eventually (go bug me about it guys, it helps :P ). I'v also considered the possibility of writing a guide about compiling TMK (or other firmware), targeted towards people who don't choose to use the command line as their preferred UI, and might not know so much about programming.