I've got to admit, I haven't always made his life a picnic. I care more about LiveJournal than anything in my life other than my wife, and he knows how seriously I view keeping LiveJournal up and operational. It's the most important thing for the site, after all.... it's important to me that people can trust that LiveJournal will be there for them when they need it.
He has dealt with a lot of stress, worked a lot of late hours, and basically saved our collective asses more times than I would like to contemplate... but what I appreciate the most are those calm moments when we he and I can just shoot the shit. He's a very thoughtful, human, and gently humorous guy, and we are all immensely lucky to have someone with so much talent, care, and dedication looking out after the site for us. Thanks, Alan... and happy birthday!