I received this in email today and it's so cool, that I had to post it. Jeff Zaslow of the Wall Street Journal wrote about Professor Randy Paush’s last lecture. If I look back, I wish that I had heard a Last Lecture from Clarence Butz. That guy was an incredible teacher....enjoy.

"Randy Pausch, a Carnegie Mellon University computer-science professor, was about to give a lecture Tuesday afternoon, but before he said a word, he received a standing ovation from 400 students and colleagues.

He motioned to them to sit down. "Make me earn it," he said.

They had come to see him give what was billed as his "last lecture." This is a common title for talks on college campuses today. Schools such as Stanford and the University of Alabama have mounted "Last Lecture Series," in which top professors are asked to think deeply about what matters to them and to give hypothetical final talks. For the audience, the question to be mulled is this: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance?

It can be an intriguing hour, watching healthy professors consider their demise and ruminate over subjects dear to them. At the University of Northern Iowa, instructor Penny O’Connor recently titled her lecture "Get Over Yourself." At Cornell, Ellis Hanson, who teaches a course titled "Desire," spoke about sex and technology.

At Carnegie Mellon, however, Dr. Pausch’s speech was more than just an academic exercise. The 46-year-old father of three has pancreatic cancer and expects to live for just a few months. His lecture, using images on a giant screen, turned out to be a rollicking and riveting journey through the lessons of his life.

He began by showing his CT scans, revealing 10 tumors on his liver. But after that, he talked about living. If anyone expected him to be morose, he said, "I’m sorry to disappoint you." He then dropped to the floor and did one-handed pushups.

Clicking through photos of himself as a boy, he talked about his childhood dreams: to win giant stuffed animals at carnivals, to walk in zero gravity, to design Disney rides, to write a World Book entry. By adulthood, he had achieved each goal. As proof, he had students carry out all the huge stuffed animals he’d won in his life, which he gave to audience members. After all, he doesn’t need them anymore.

He paid tribute to his techie background. "I’ve experienced a deathbed conversion," he said, smiling. "I just bought a Macintosh." Flashing his rejection letters on the screen, he talked about setbacks in his career, repeating: "Brick walls are there for a reason. They let us prove how badly we want things." He encouraged us to be patient with others. "Wait long enough, and people will surprise and impress you." After showing photos of his childhood bedroom, decorated with mathematical notations he’d drawn on the walls, he said: "If your kids want to paint their bedrooms, as a favor to me, let ’em do it."

While displaying photos of his bosses and students over the years, he said that helping others fulfill their dreams is even more fun than achieving your own. He talked of requiring his students to create videogames without sex and violence. "You’d be surprised how many 19-year-old boys run out of ideas when you take those possibilities away," he said, but they all rose to the challenge.

He also saluted his parents, who let him make his childhood bedroom his domain, even if his wall etchings hurt the home’s resale value. He knew his mom was proud of him when he got his Ph.D, he said, despite how she’d introduce him: "This is my son. He’s a doctor, but not the kind who helps people."

He then spoke about his legacy. Considered one of the nation’s foremost teachers of videogame and virtual-reality technology, he helped develop "Alice," a Carnegie Mellon software project that allows people to easily create 3-D animations. It had one million downloads in the past year, and usage is expected to soar.

"Like Moses, I get to see the Promised Land, but I don’t get to step foot in it," Dr. Pausch said. "That’s OK. I will live on in Alice."

Many people have given last speeches without realizing it. The day before he was killed, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke prophetically: "Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place." He talked of how he had seen the Promised Land, even though "I may not get there with you."

Dr. Pausch’s lecture, in the same way, became a call to his colleagues and students to go on without him and do great things. But he was also addressing those closer to his heart.

Near the end of his talk, he had a cake brought out for his wife, whose birthday was the day before. As she cried and they embraced on stage, the audience sang "Happy Birthday," many wiping away their own tears.

Dr. Pausch’s speech was taped so his children, ages 5, 2 and 1, can watch it when they’re older. His last words in his last lecture were simple: "This was for my kids." Then those of us in the audience rose for one last standing ovation."

I got finished with my last proposal today. That's one for NASA and one for the Air Force. The good news is that I am done, the bad news is that I now have to catch up on all the things that I haven't been doing for the past three months while I was working on the proposals.

I got two interesting opportunities today that could be a great adjunct to what I am doing. Life is good.

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Tim and Aiden are coming next weekend, the Brookmans are coming this weekend, and Beth will be here this weekend too. It's great having lots of people around.

12 People in the house and counting, that's roughly 575 square feet per person. Still not bad.

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Leslie got a job in Walnut Creek and will be able to be closer to Kyle. We're happy for her. That reminds me...

HEY PUFFER AND SHIVELY, STEP UP TO THE PLATE ALREADY! GEEEEEZ!

Katy Ann Brookman
6 lbs 15 ounces (cause chicks want this kind of info)

She was born this morning at about 7AM in Montana.

Man, we got out just in time! I always laughed at the idea of California sliding into the ocean but it may not be far off.

In the last 24 hours southern California has had:

Thunderstorms
Fires
Flooding
Earthquakes
Torandos
Temperatures in the 100's

You've got to be kidding me.

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BTW, we're south of Salt Lake City right now. I think we're going to stop in Lehi at the Cabela's for a break.

Logan is having a tough time this trip. I need to buy an RV. This may be the last family trip without one.

Driving long distances is exceedingly relaxing for me. Today I drove from home to Elko, Nevada. Only 600 miles or so, not bad. When I got here I got dinner and visited the casinos.

Of course I won! Why would you ask that? I was only up $115 over $40, but that's not bad for 1 hour of play. I decided to leave early since I still have almost 500 miles to go tomorrow.

I just wanted to get back, check the computer, and go to bed.

Good night!

I just turned on the TV and Dear Francis is on the Movie Channel. Is it okay for a grown man to cry?

I thought that August wouldn't be as busy as July. I was dead wrong.

These contract proposals are kicking my butt.

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Mark got the job. The Brookman's will be moving to Montana in a couple of weeks. Very cool.

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We may be going down to California next week. I'll give details as we get closer.

The photo gallery is back up but there's nothing inside it yet.

Give me a few days.

CORRECTION: The pictures from Logan's first birthday are in there.

SMOKE
There is a lot of smoke in the valley right now. There are fires all around us. There isn't any right on top of us but the smoke is getting ridiculous. It may actually be worse than Southern California right now.

FIRE
Please don't let the space shuttle blow up! They are going to try and bring it in without repairs, but if it goes kablooey, the effects are far reaching. Obviously 7 people lose their lives, and that's the worst part, but it also effects thousands of other people as well.

For some bizarre reason I broke out the Dots DVD tonight and watched part of it. It gnaws at me as one of my greatest failures in my life. It had potential, but I really blew it.

I need to redeem myself some day.