Category: Gene

Remembering Gene Saunders

The memorial service for Gene Saunders took place this afternoon at the Sun Microsystems office in Dallas.

Gene Saunders
Gene Saunders
There were about 40 people there; several of us spoke at length, and others added their perspectives. There were photographs of Gene at all ages, Powerpoint Keynote and iPhoto slide shows, and even one of the conference calls that Gene always hated. (Just kidding, George: your talk went really well.) The setting was a conference room, decorated with many items of Gene memorabilia: T-shirts, hats, license plates, Spam(!), beer, audio CDs, political fridge magnets, and more. (Photos tomorrow.) There were stories, revelations, memories, jokes, surprises, tears, and many laughs.
Thank you to all of you who made this possible — Paula, George, Roger, Jill, and Sandra — and to everyone who attended and contributed their memories of Gene. I think he would have approved, although I suspect that some of the photos would have struck him as opportunities for Photoshopping…

Dallas, November 1

I’ve just booked my travel to Dallas for Gene’s memorial on November 1st. I note ((With a finely-calibrated sense of irony.)) that the cheap hotel that I’m using (the Staybridge, near the Sun office) offers free wired and wireless Internet. Meanwhile the fancy hotels that I stayed at last week in Edinburgh and Slough charged an arm and a leg for web access, and made me jump through hoops to get it. ((Buy an access card; scratch off the silver patch to reveal a PIN; then use it or lose it.)) Gene would have been appropriately outraged….