Monthly Archives: October 2009

Saying Goodbye…

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Brian and Po Po

I’m not entirely sure how to handle this. Is it even kosher to write such a post? I guess at the end of the day, I’m hoping that writing will serve as a cathartic experience for me and for my family.

I got a phone call from my mom yesterday afternoon.

“Brian, Po Po is dying.”

I doubt that I’ll ever forget those words.

We’ve all known for a while that my Po Po was not doing well.  She had a minor stroke on October 18, nearly two weeks ago. But since it was a minor stroke, I think we all figured she’d pull through. But some where along the line, she caught pneumonia, and I think that’s what will really take her from this life into Heaven.

My conversation with my mom was brief, but the gist of it is that the pneumonia was catching up to her, and her lungs were filled with fluid from the infection. She is rapidly approaching her last days here on earth. The doctors gave her the option of going to the hospital in hopes of curing her, or going to hospice/palliative care.  They recommended that she go to hospice as another trip to the hospital, with all of its associated tests and procedures, likely would have killed her.

She told my Gung Gung that she wanted to go to hospice and that she was ready to meet God. I think that’s the attitude we should all have.

EOS-1D Mark IV

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Yesterday, I posted about the new release of the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. It’s a pretty nifty, new, pro-grade Canon camera. It was announced on 10/22, and won’t be available until December. As I mentioned yesterday, this one does 16.1 megapixels at 10 fps, and shoots full 1080p video.

As was the case with the 5D Mark II, Vincent LaForet got a sneak preview of the camera, and was able to make an updated video, Nocturne, in the style of the original, Reverie. Unfortunately, the video has been taken down at Canon’s request. Hopefully it will be back up again soon. LaForet describes the camera’s night functionality thusly: “pointing my light into an area in complete shadow (my eye saw nothing but black) but on the rear of the LCD I saw sharp, green leaves as crystal clear as if it were shot in daylight…The short film you are about to watch was shot in pretty much the very worst light that I could possibly find in an evening urban landscape.  I did not chose “pretty lighting” in a mall or under neon signs.” Looks exciting.

Most likely, I’ll never be able to afford one (in case you didn’t notice, this sucker is $5,000), especially if Charlene and I ever hope to be home owners. But it’s cool to see Canon continuing to build great products.

Dave’s Bagels

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I was rummaging through some old e-mails when I came across this picture. It’s been over a year since the picture was taken, and I thought it was appropriate to post. So here’s the story.

It was my first week at PrimitiveLogic. They threw me right into the fire, and off to Workday Training. Workday was founded by Dave Duffield, former CEO, Chairman, and Founder of PeopleSoft which was acquired by Oracle a few years ago.

Dave's BagelsOne day, as I was crossing the street from my car to the office, I came upon an older gentleman carrying a paper bag.

“Are you Dave Duffield?” I asked.

“Yes, I am.” He responded.

I was stunned. I introduced myself, told him I working for a partner consultant, Primitive Logic, and that I was in the office for Integration Fundamentals training.

We talked as we hopped into the elevator. I asked him what was in the bag, and he said that they were bagels he had found on sale. He had to go a few floors further than me, but as I was stepping off the elevator, he spoke up.

“Here, why don’t you take these bagels to your class?” he said as he offered me some of the bagels from his bag.

“Thanks.” I replied with a bit of hesitation.

As I got off the elevator, it hit me: I was just given bagels by one of the richest people in America. In fact, he’s #347 on the Forbes 400, coming in with just about $1.1 billion.

In any case, the wealth doesn’t seem to have gone to his head. He’s a super down-to-earth kind of guy. And heck, he gave me bagels!

Dave, the pleasure was all mine.