On October 28, 1955, shortly after 9:00 p.m., William Henry Gates III was born. He was born into a family with a rich history in business, politics, and community service. His great-grandfather had been a state legislator and mayor, his grandfather was the vice president of a national bank, and his father was a prominent lawyer. [Wallace, 1992, p. 8-9] Early on in life, it was apparent that Bill Gates inherited the ambition, intelligence, and competitive spirit that had helped his progenitors rise to the top in their chosen professions. In elementary school he quickly surpassed all of his peer's abilities in nearly all subjects, especially math and science. His parents recognized his intelligence and decided to enroll him in Lakeside, a private school known for its intense academic environment. This decision had far reaching effects on Bill Gates's life. For at Lakeside, Bill Gates was first introduced to computers.
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In December of 1974, Allen was on his way to visit Gates when along the way he stopped to browse the current magazines. What he saw changed his and Bill Gates's lives forever. On the cover of Popular Electronics was a picture of the Altair 8080 and the headline "World's First Microcomputer Kit to Rival Commercial Models." He bought the issue and rushed over to Gates's dorm room. They both recognized this as their big opportunity. The two knew that the home computer market was about to explode and that someone would need to make software for the new machines. Within a few days, Gates had called MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems), the makers of the Altair. He told the company that he and Allen had developed a BASIC that could be used on the Altair [Teamgates.com, 9/29/96]. This was a lie. They had not even written a line of code. They had neither an Altair nor the chip that ran the computer. The MITS company did not know this and was very interested in seeing their BASIC. So, Gates and Allen began working feverishly on the BASIC they had promised. The code for the program was left mostly up to Bill Gates while Paul Allen began working on a way to simulate the Altair with the schools PDP-10. Eight weeks later, the two felt their program was ready. Allen was to fly to MITS and show off their creation. The day after Allen arrived at MITS, it was time to test their BASIC. Entering the program into the company's Altair was the first time Allen had ever touched one. If the Altair simulation he designed or any of Gates's code was faulty, the demonstration would most likely have ended in failure. This was not the case, and the program worked perfectly the first time [Wallace, 1992, p. 80]. MITS arranged a deal with Gates and Allen to buy the rights to their BASIC.[Teamgates.com, 9/29/96] Gates was convinced that the software market had been born. Within a year, Bill Gates had dropped out of Harvard and Microsoft was formed.
Source: http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~history/Gates.Mirick.html
Commentary: Remember the old phrase, "It takes money to make money?" William "Bill" Gates is a great tribute to this phrase, as well as a model of business ethics for us to think about. Bill Gates was born into a wealthy family, so his early education advancement was far easier than other students with the same aptitude potential as him. Because he was able to go to a private education center for better learning as a young man, this created the possibility for him that set his lifelong path into motion. He first found interest in computers at his private school, was able to excel and enter Harvard; both schools required a higher cost which the Gates family could easily afford. But what if Bill Gates was unable to afford better learning centers from a young age to young adult? Would Microsoft have ever been founded? Even so, does there lie a possibility another young man with as much, if not more, aptitude than Bill went under the radar because his family couldn't afford the same schools as Gates? We may never know, but in considering the alternatives, a good financial start clearly helped Gates get a step ahead. This is the very financial dispersion in our country that allows us to prosper, as Gates did as an individual, and as America has because of his individual accomplishments.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Monday, September 1, 2008
Hundreds of thousands lose power as Gustav pounds coast
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- Hurricane Gustav swirled violently ashore Monday, turning lights out across the Gulf Coast and sending water over the tops of New Orleans' levees, officials said.
Water from the Industrial Canal floods a road in New Orleans after Hurricane Gustav made landfall Monday.
The storm's eastern bands, which generally pack the most powerful winds, also hammered Mississippi as Gustav moved to the west of New Orleans. Officials in Bay St. Louis, Pass Christian, Long Beach and Biloxi reported that Gustav was flooding U.S. Highway 90, making it impassable in parts.
In Pass Christian, Gustav blew vinyl siding off homes and damaged the recently repaired small-boat harbor. At least four boats docked there were swept onto the harbor access road, police Chief John Dubuisson said.
In Biloxi, iReporter Kevin Wise, who lives two blocks from the beach, said Gustav had pushed the Gulf waters into a highway about 100 yards from the normal shoreline.
"On the beach, it was blowing hard enough that you had to squat down to take a picture, it could pretty much throw you around," he told CNN. Wise said he and his wife ignored mandatory evacuation orders for his area.
At noon CT, the storm's eye was about 10 miles (16 kilometers) southeast of Morgan City, Louisiana, and 65 miles west-southwest of New Orleans, forecasters said. The Category 2 storm had winds of about 105 mph (169 kph), according to the National Weather Service.
Winds were sending whitecaps over levees in New Orleans, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reported no major problems.
There were reports of water going over the Industrial Canal levee near a railroad bridge, said Chris Macaluso, a spokesman for the Louisiana Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration. The Port of New Orleans will raise the bridge to ease pressure on the system, he said.
The Industrial Canal levee failed during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, devastating the Lower Ninth Ward and neighboring St. Bernard Parish.
response:
Please do not let these levees break! The residents of Louisiana took a huge toll from Katrina and a big hit from Gustav could devistate the southern part of LA. I was watching CNN last night and this morning and the hurricane went from a category 3 hurricane to a category 2 which is lower windspeed which could significantly reduce the amount of damage done to the hurricane area. The levees in the industrial canal look to be holding at the current time and it seems the worst winds are being felt currently with the levees still holding. Water going over the levees as opposed to through the levees are completely different. Water going over the tops still means the levees are holding.
A huge effect all of the United States could feel are rising gas prices because of Gustav. It was interesting to see the number of oil platforms that Gustav was in route of going over. The amount of barrels of oil coming from these platforms is huge to all of the United States. So any delays in producing oil could drastically rise gas prices. I guess we will all see as a nation the effect of these oil platforms being involved in Gustavs path.
David Caldwell
Water from the Industrial Canal floods a road in New Orleans after Hurricane Gustav made landfall Monday.
The storm's eastern bands, which generally pack the most powerful winds, also hammered Mississippi as Gustav moved to the west of New Orleans. Officials in Bay St. Louis, Pass Christian, Long Beach and Biloxi reported that Gustav was flooding U.S. Highway 90, making it impassable in parts.
In Pass Christian, Gustav blew vinyl siding off homes and damaged the recently repaired small-boat harbor. At least four boats docked there were swept onto the harbor access road, police Chief John Dubuisson said.
In Biloxi, iReporter Kevin Wise, who lives two blocks from the beach, said Gustav had pushed the Gulf waters into a highway about 100 yards from the normal shoreline.
"On the beach, it was blowing hard enough that you had to squat down to take a picture, it could pretty much throw you around," he told CNN. Wise said he and his wife ignored mandatory evacuation orders for his area.
At noon CT, the storm's eye was about 10 miles (16 kilometers) southeast of Morgan City, Louisiana, and 65 miles west-southwest of New Orleans, forecasters said. The Category 2 storm had winds of about 105 mph (169 kph), according to the National Weather Service.
Winds were sending whitecaps over levees in New Orleans, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reported no major problems.
There were reports of water going over the Industrial Canal levee near a railroad bridge, said Chris Macaluso, a spokesman for the Louisiana Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration. The Port of New Orleans will raise the bridge to ease pressure on the system, he said.
The Industrial Canal levee failed during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, devastating the Lower Ninth Ward and neighboring St. Bernard Parish.
response:
Please do not let these levees break! The residents of Louisiana took a huge toll from Katrina and a big hit from Gustav could devistate the southern part of LA. I was watching CNN last night and this morning and the hurricane went from a category 3 hurricane to a category 2 which is lower windspeed which could significantly reduce the amount of damage done to the hurricane area. The levees in the industrial canal look to be holding at the current time and it seems the worst winds are being felt currently with the levees still holding. Water going over the levees as opposed to through the levees are completely different. Water going over the tops still means the levees are holding.
A huge effect all of the United States could feel are rising gas prices because of Gustav. It was interesting to see the number of oil platforms that Gustav was in route of going over. The amount of barrels of oil coming from these platforms is huge to all of the United States. So any delays in producing oil could drastically rise gas prices. I guess we will all see as a nation the effect of these oil platforms being involved in Gustavs path.
David Caldwell
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