Ron Schenone

Fred Langa Has Been Found – Please Say Hi

Posted by on Jun 21, 2008 | 5 Comments

Back in December, 2006 I wrote a piece about missing Fred Langa and his Langalist newsletter [here]. I have received many comments to the article, including this one from a reader by the name of Dan:

Hi all,

In case you haven’t seen it – Fred has a new blog. There’s not much computer related there – it seems that he truly was burnt out and needed to reboot his life. Can’t blame him, although I do still miss the LangaList. He provides a link to a very long but worthwhile read on his motorcycle journey across the country. At the beginning, he mentions some personal life struggles (wife divorced him) and talks about how he sold his business to Brian Livingston (without mentioning him by name).

Blog: http://fredlanga.blogspot.com/

Motorcycle trip diary: http://fredlanga.blogspot.com/2008/05/by-way.html

I had a feeling that something crashed Fred’s personal life. His departure was too quick and sudden. Also his disappearing off the face of the planet is now understandable.  For those of us who cherished Fred’s great newsletter the Langalist, you may wish to stop by and say hi to Fred. I’m will after I post this.

Comments welcome.

PS Thanks Dan for the links. I know all of use will appreciate finding Fred once again.

 

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    I got a comment from Fred on my original article here:

    http://wp3.lockergnome.com/blade/2006/12/30/fred-langa-and-the-langalist-we-miss-you-fred/#comment-155089

    “Wow. Ron Schenone posted in my new blog, and led me to this thread. I’m amazed and humbled at the messages here.

    I’m truly sorry that my actions appeared to be “selling out.” That was never my intent. When Brian approached me about buying my newsletter, it seemed a 3-way win: readers would get continuity, Brian would get new subscribers, and I’d get some relief. After 10 years as a 1-man operation, I was on the ragged edge of burnout, and had to make a change.

    For comparison, Brian’s newsletter was roughly the same size as mine; he had four full-time people working on it, plus his paid contributors to help actually write the thing. I had, well, me. Even with a lot of very helpful readers sending in tips, it was essentially one guy doing 4+ full time jobs, and that’s simply not sustainable.

    Plus, as some of you surmised, there was a personal crisis afoot: My marriage of 35 years was crumbling. It wasn’t a fun time.

    My divorce is now in its final stages, grinding towards a final decree. And my noncompete agreement with Brian expires this Fall. So, it’s time for me to figure out what comes next— and hence my new blog.

    I don’t know exactly what this will evolve into. But whatever it is, it has to be physically sustainable, and (if possible) maybe a little fun.

    Tech writing? Maybe…. Maybe a Linux newsletter? Maybe some new take on Windows. Maybe something else altogether. I just don’t know yet.

    If you’d like to see where it all leads, I invite you to join in the discussion. I’d love to hear from former readers, some of whom I truly came to think of as friends.

    Blog: http://fredlanga.blogspot.com/”

    Stop by and say hello to Fred. I’m sure he would love to hear from you.

  • Don Naphen

    Wow! Looks like my gut feelings were right on the money Ron. I surmised a domestic situation when things just didn’t add up, but that conversation has been presented in a previous thread. I’ll be sure and check out Fred’s Blog and see what it has to offer. Yeah, the big “D” can do a real number on your head, and I’m speaking from experience (March 16th, 1989). One never forgets the “D” day! LOL

    Oh, have you had any comments on your web page? It’s acting very flaky lately. Have a great weekend and TTYL

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hi Don,
    LG is going through a upgrade and it should be up and running properly soon, very soon. :-)

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hi Don,
    LG is going through a upgrade and it should be up and running properly soon, very soon. :-)

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Don Naphen sent me this:

    “Oh, with respect to Fred Langa … I’ve been in contact with a retired friend of mine who, like myself, still feel hurt and betrayed by him. I can’t believe he was forced into lying to his former subscribers about the whole thing. He grossly misrepresented himself from the get-go and that will never go away, regardless of his intentions at the time. He referred to the many threads in your blog mentioning him, so he MUST have read the many many negative comments. I respect his expertise and knowledge in this field, but his questionable conduct and integrity will be lurking over his shoulder for a long long time. He let a lot of people down, including me, and aside from the money wasted on his “transition”, he has a lot to make up for. Oh, and him letting the proverbial cat out of the bag by way of admitting his actual dealings with Bryan Livingston before, during and now could land him in deep doo doo. I know if I was the owner of his former business and had made strict policy rules, I might be a bit upset that Fred is now coming out and making these revelations while still under a non-disclosure agreement. LET THE GAMES BEGIN!”