3. Randy Pausch - Internet Sensation Lecturer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqFyY5f8Zmw I'll admit this guy isn't much of a celebrity outside of a semi-small circle of people, but I'm one of those people so I'm including him in this article. Pausch is the Carnegie Mellon computer-science professor who leapt to internet fame for his "last lecture". Check it out if you have and hour or two to kill. Pausch's story is both inspirational and depressing. After joining the faculty at Carnegie Mellon, Pausch became one of the developers of the software project called Alice, which teaches students about computer programming in a 3D environment. I only mention this because it reminds me of Project Alice in the Resident Evil movies. That freaks me out a little. Moving on with the article, in 2006 Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given very little time to live. Within a month of the diagnosis, he responded by giving his hugely popular "last lecture" about achieving your childhood dreams. As part of that lecture, Pausch revealed his childhood dream of being a starship captain in the manner of Captain Kirk. The lecture gained such fame that Star Trek director J. J. Abrams sent Pausch a message inviting him the set of Star Trek, where Pausch was given a role in the Star Trek reboot as a crew member on the ill-fated Kelvin. He even got to speak a line of dialogue ("Captain, we have visual"). While he didn't live to see his Star Trek debut released, Pausch can rest easy with the knowledge that he made a small childhood dream come true. Good for you, Randy.
Tim Rich
Tim is a varied character. He's lived on three continents. He hates ice cream. He has been a highly-paid computer programmer. He invents collectible card games. He is a coffee shop owner. He has had fantasy stories published in magazines. Eventually he wishes to retire from life and become a professional 10-pin bowler who writes articles while living in his RV and traveling from bowling tournament to bowling tournament with his faithful wife in tow.
And of course, Tim is a major horror and science fiction fan.
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