Will the Real Yasu Please Stand Up?

07.22.05 | Coding, Yasu

There’s something to a name, be it product or person, that will often tell you right off the bat whether your time is worth investing in it, or them. You can call it hunch, gut feeling, clairvoyance, whatever. The fact is, you simply know without having to say why it is you know.

When I named Yasu (Yet Another System Utility), I didn’t have to think about it. The name just popped out of my mouth when the first person asked “What do you call it?” There was something about the name that said to me it would easily be associated with reliability, stability and just generally being known for getting the job done.

It turns out there was something to my hunch, because the real Yasu is known for just those qualities himself, existing as the personification of my humble little utility.

Meet Hisayasu Tsuji. You can just call him Yasu. Everyone else does. He’s the lead editor and colorist for “disaster” over at Solvent Dreams, a film and animation studio located in Los Angeles.

I was stoked to hear the story I got in an email from David Davidson, Director of Solvent Dreams, a couple of days ago letting me know just how similar their Yasu is to mine…

Yasu is short for Hisayasu. Nobody calls him that, though. Yasu is very yasu. This person works so hard that he’ll stay all night until the next morning to make sure something works. He’s a dedicated editor, colorist, filmmaker who will go the extra mile. He has his own way of figuring things out, which look spurious, pedestrian and unworkable at first, but “if left alone” he will finish no matter what. When we put Yasu on the job, we know it is going to get done–provided we leave him alone to do it.

If we didn’t have Yasu, we would not have our business. He’s a mini-celebrity; unassuming, polite, good-natured and sharp as a tack. Every client requests him not just because of his many talents, but his warmth and friendship with anyone.

Coincidence? Chance? I think not. Like I said earlier, there’s something in a name that just tells you “that’s the solution to my problem.” Yasu, both of them, are exactly that.