4 ms·

Gordon was the first investor in my first startup, the first guy that believed in us. Even though I only met him later in his life he was still sharp as a tack

by jpgvm 2y ago

Gordon was the first investor in my first startup, the first guy that believed in us. Even though I only met him later in his life he was still sharp as a tack, never lost the mind of the engineer. Sometimes it's best not to meet your heroes but Gordon lived up to the hype and then some. Super gentle, generous with his time, the consummate gentleman. One of my fondest memories from my startup years was enjoying dinner with Gordon and his wife in Sydney, she made the most amazing cookies. To this day I don't think I have had a better cookie haha. Visited the computer history museum with him once for a bit of a VIP tour I guess. So many stories about PDPs and all the friends he made along the way. Thanks for all the stories and memories old man, you have earned your rest. RIP.

pfdietz 2y ago
I wonder if that cookie recipe is written down somewhere. Gordon Bell practiced "lifelogging", so maybe!
- avagate 2y ago
  His lifelogging was a project called MyLifeBits. He wore a camera that took a picture every 20 seconds. Even called the book about his work Total Recall (and MSFT's new product that does something similar on the desktop is called Recall). Someone who worked with him at MSR wrote about it: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/gordon-bell-standing-shoulders-giants-vik-singh-ydlec/?trackingId=dIjTwgBaQ3OkSxCyS4e8eQ%3D%3D https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/gordon-bell-standing-shoulder...
  - skottenborg 2y ago
    Interesting. Stephen Wolfram also wears a camera that snaps pictures every 20 seconds for special events. This is quite a read: https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2019/02/seeking-the-productive-life-some-details-of-my-personal-infrastructure/ https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2019/02/seeking-the-prod...
    - Roritharr 2y ago
      I wish I could set my Meta Glasses to do this for special occasions where it's socially acceptable.
  - drew870mitchell 2y ago
    The book is wonderful, as biz-tech-optimist quick reads go, and some of its ideas have stuck with me over a decade after reading it. I'm almost entirely off MSFT products now but i was heartened to see the Recall announcement the other day. Bell was a rare visionary. RIP

by jpgvm 2y ago

pfdietz 2y ago

I wonder if that cookie recipe is written down somewhere. Gordon Bell practiced "lifelogging", so maybe!

avagate 2y ago
His lifelogging was a project called MyLifeBits. He wore a camera that took a picture every 20 seconds. Even called the book about his work Total Recall (and MSFT's new product that does something similar on the desktop is called Recall). Someone who worked with him at MSR wrote about it: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/gordon-bell-standing-shoulders-giants-vik-singh-ydlec/?trackingId=dIjTwgBaQ3OkSxCyS4e8eQ%3D%3D https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/gordon-bell-standing-shoulder...
- skottenborg 2y ago
  Interesting. Stephen Wolfram also wears a camera that snaps pictures every 20 seconds for special events. This is quite a read: https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2019/02/seeking-the-productive-life-some-details-of-my-personal-infrastructure/ https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2019/02/seeking-the-prod...
  - Roritharr 2y ago
    I wish I could set my Meta Glasses to do this for special occasions where it's socially acceptable.
- drew870mitchell 2y ago
  The book is wonderful, as biz-tech-optimist quick reads go, and some of its ideas have stuck with me over a decade after reading it. I'm almost entirely off MSFT products now but i was heartened to see the Recall announcement the other day. Bell was a rare visionary. RIP