A Teary Farewell: Bill Gates Has Left The Building
Credit: REUTERS/Robert Galbraith
It’s official: Bill Gates has retired from Microsoft. Five years ago, he began a slow and transitional path to this day when he handed his day-to-day responsibilities to now CEO, Steve Ballmer. I have many fond memories of Bill and Microsoft. I made many friends at the company, gained the respect of Bill himself and had the pleasure of learning about life, business and success from an incredible individual.
Regardless of whatever opinion you might have of Bill and Microsoft, he certainly deserves the honor and recognition for his contribution to our modern world. He, along with many other role models, helped define my passion for many interests over the years. I am especially grateful for all the wonderful experiences I’ve had with Microsoft over the years. Bill was supportive the entire way.
By Daisuke Wakabayashi
REDMOND, Washington (Reuters) - Bill Gates said a teary goodbye on Friday to Microsoft Corp, the software maker he built into the world’s most valuable technology company based on the ambitious goal of placing a computer on every desk and in every home.
He leaves Microsoft, which he co-founded with childhood friend Paul Allen in 1975, to focus on his philanthropic organization, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the world’s largest charity, funded in part by his vast fortune.
At an employee event at Microsoft’s scenic headquarters campus here, Gates joined Chief Executive Steve Ballmer on stage to deliver a short speech and field questions from employees.
“There won’t be a day in my life when I won’t be thinking about Microsoft, the great things that we’re doing and wanting to help,” said Gates, who wiped away tears as the group of employees rose to give him a standing ovation.
Ballmer, a Harvard University classmate who joined Microsoft at Gates’ behest, got choked up as he tried to describe Gates’ impact on the company and society at large.
“There’s no way to say thanks to Bill. Bill’s the founder. Bill’s the leader,” said Ballmer. “This is Bill’s baby.”
Gates will leave behind a life’s work developing software to devote energy to finding new vaccines or to microfinance projects in the developing world. He will remain chairman of Microsoft and work on special technology projects.
Ballmer spoke about how he contemplated quitting Microsoft a month after joining the company and return to Stanford University business school. Bill passionately implored him to stay and laid out the vision of the company.
(via Reuters)
What You See, Is What You Get
There are some folks who think I’m a hypocrite and that I live an alternate lifestyle here on my blog. That couldn’t be more false. This blog is the only place in the world where I can truly be myself, while sharing my deepest thoughts, frustrations, disappointments and more. Between my blog, lifecast, Twitter, articles and the online communities where I participate, there aren’t any secrets about who I am, what I am and what I believe in, as evident in these posts:
Is My Heart Empty (Or Am I Just Numbed?)
Mass Media’s Influence on Dating (and Why I Refuse to Participate)
5 Reasons Why I’m Single
Is Dating THAT Bad in North America?
I Lost My Heart, Only To Find It Again
There are friends and mentors alike who believe I should ‘tone down’ on my ‘rhetoric’ about social constructs, dating and women, just so I don’t run the risk of offending people. However, I believe this is the exact reason why people don’t pay attention to details, because most things are far too sugarcoated, rather than told in the way it should be.
There was a time in life when I held everything in. I wouldn’t dare express my opinion, for I feared that I wouldn’t be liked because of them. For example, I stopped believing in the idea of religion and “God” when I was about 10 years old. Unfortunately, it was difficult to communicate this, and I often swallowed my own values to appease others. That’s just one of many examples.
Today, I am pretty rough around the edges with regard to many things. I don’t hide my disdain for dating or women at times. Also, I have very little tolerance or patience these days for those who cannot see the obvious. All of these things are very apparent to thousands of people each month. What keeps these people coming back? It’s my willingness to live an open and honest life — No matter how harsh or kind.
There will always be people attacking my principles, views and values. This is nothing new to me. It comes with the territory. I liken these individuals to crabs that are obsessed with hindering another’s progress. They can’t stand the thought of someone who wishes to remain independent of society’s constructed reality.
Ron Paul’s “Campaign for Liberty” is Growing
Ron Paul’s “Campaign for Liberty” sent out the following e-mail to its members yesterday and I’ve decided to share it here as well. If you care about revamping the failed social policies of America, taking back control of it and making it a truly free and prosperous nation, then please consider joining Dr. Paul’s movement:
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Fourteen days off the ground and the Campaign for Liberty’s new office is open, the phone lines are being installed, and we are busy at work.
Our membership is already climbing towards 100,000. Invite your friends and family to join the Campaign for Liberty with our new email invitation tool. Can we get to 75,000 by Independence Day?
In September, we will roll out a brand new redesign of our website, with lots of innovative features and extensive resources. Our Precinct Leader Program will engage the grassroots; our news service will compete with the likes of Drudge and Huffington Post; and our blogging network - far more participatory than what we have now - will be a hub for news and opinion.
Between now and then you’ll see important updates and specific plans as we progress toward our goal.
But the great culmination and official premiere will take place in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on September 2. A grand rally is in store with speakers, musicians, and live entertainment. It will be a day to remember. Please join us. We will update you on the rally in just a couple weeks.
If we are to restore our Constitution and take our country back, we will do so only by the kind of sustained and organized action that the establishment hopes we don’t have the stomach for. As usual, you’re going to prove them wrong. We are in this for the long haul, and we have the tools - and the ideas - to win. As Congressman Paul has said, “No army can stop an idea whose time has come.”
For liberty,
The Campaign for Liberty Team
P.S. It’s no cliché to say that our country’s future is at stake. The Campaign for Liberty is preparing to lead the charge to rescue our republic and restore the Constitution. Every donation, no matter what the size, aids us in this great battle. We deeply appreciate every bit of help you can give us.
It’s Friday: Great New Movies Release Today!
Throughout the year, Friday is a day I often look forward to, but not in the traditional sense. It’s an opportunity to satisfy the movie junkie within and take in some flicks of interest. In one weekend, there are two great movies I’m looking forward to seeing (movie synopsis via The Internet Movie Database):
What if mankind had to leave Earth, and somebody forgot to turn the last robot off? After hundreds of lonely years of doing what he was built for, WALL*E (short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) discovers a new purpose in life (besides collecting knick-knacks) when he meets a sleek search robot named EVE. EVE comes to realize that WALL*E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet’s future, and races back to space to report her findings to the humans (who have been eagerly awaiting word that it is safe to return home). Meanwhile, WALL*E chases EVE across the galaxy and sets an adventure into motion. Joining WALL*E on his journey across the universe is a cast of characters including a pet cockroach and a heroic team of malfunctioning misfit robots.
“Wanted” tells the tale of one apathetic nobody’s transformation into an unparalleled enforcer of justice. In 2008, we’re introduced to a hero for a new generation: 25 year old employed slacker, WESLEY GIBSON. Wes is the most disaffected, cube-dwelling, clock-punching drone this planet has ever known. His boss chews him out hourly, his girlfriend ignores him routinely, and his life plods on in interminable boredom and routine. Everyone knows this disengaged slacker will amount to absolutely nothing, and so does he, until he meets the sexy, foxy woman named FOX, and then everything changes. Wes’ estranged father is murdered, and the deadly Fox recruits him into The Fraternity, a secret society that trains him to avenge his father’s death, by unlocking his dormant powers. And oh boy does he have powers, as she teaches Wes how to develop his lightning-quick reflexes and phenomenal agility, he discovers that The Fraternity lives by an ancient, unbreakable code: to carry out the death orders given by emotionless Fate itself. Wes, with his wickedly brilliant and sexy tutor, plus the paternal guidance of The Fraternity’s enigmatic leader, SLOAN, young Wes grows to enjoy all the strength and success he ever wanted. But, slowly, he realizes there’s more to his dangerous associates than meets the casual eye. And, as he wavers between new found heroism and vengeance, Wes will come to learn what no one can ever teach him; that he alone controls his destiny. Written by Orange
A young man finds out his long lost father is an assassin. And when his father is murdered, the son is recruited into his father’s old organization and trained by a man named Sloan to follow in his dad’s footsteps.
Meet YouTube’s ‘Godheval’: He ‘Gets It’
I spend a lot of time online reading and learning across many topics and interests. As an opponent of social constructs, I am always in search of more knowledge, like-minded people and more. Tonight, I discovered ‘Godheval‘. ‘Godheval’ has a series of videos posted on his YouTube channel. The video I’ve embedded below is his argument regarding the fallacy of “race”. We’re definitely on the same page. His argument and views are identical to my own. Enjoy.