Randy Pausch

An amazing man with an amazing attitude, Randy Pausch, Computer Science Professor at Carnegie-Mellon, passed away.

After being diagnosed with terminal cancer he delivered a 'last lecture' speech at Carnegie-Mellon and later on Oprah. His lecture is called 'Achieving Your Childhood Dreams'. If you haven't seen or heard his speech. Here's your chance. Here's the full lecture he delivered at CM:

Here's the abbreviated one on Oprah:

I'm normally not one for the Tony Robbins or Deepak Choprah thing, because their message is essentially motivated by money. Randy's message is one that he wanted to leave for his kids, and thus its genuine quality shines so very bright. His personal truth is enlightening and after watching him, knowing that he's facing his illness with so much dignity is amazing and inspiring.

Randy was a Star Trek fan, like so many bright and creative people are, and apparently had a small role in the upcoming J.J. Abrams franchise reboot. I'm looking forward to seeing his posthumous and eternal exploration of the final frontier. Pleasant journeys, Randy.

Missing the BART train, forgetting to turn the sprinklers before a week trip to Mexico, not having milk to put in your coffee: these are insignificant trivialities compared to the gift of life, and how we use it to make the world a better place...one keystroke at a time. So before I start complaining about anything today, I'm going to ask myself...what would Randy do? Is this something I want to leave as my legacy?