A coworker who was leaving HP, sent this e-mail out his last day. It has a lot of great quotes:------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello all, or should I say goodbye? This is the misty sentimental email I said I might write on my last day. If you didn’t know me or don’t really care, please feel free to move on to your other emails. I won’t mind.
In the spirit of the cross-tech meeting [a large weekly engineering meeting], I figured I’d guide my way through this with some quotes that seemed appropriate.
“He that will not sail till all dangers are over must never put to sea.” -Thomas Fuller
It seems fitting, considering the state of things. I hope my boat doesn’t sink.
“I hope some animal never bores a hole in my head and lays its eggs in my brain because later you might think you’re having a good idea but it’s just eggs hatching.” –Jack Handy
Maybe this explains why this felt like a good idea back in June but now seems a little scary. Maybe it wasn’t so much a good idea as it was hatching eggs short-circuiting my brain.
“An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes he can make, in a narrow field.” –Niels Bohr
You’ve got to love Niels Bohr. His old model of the atom has been very useful training tool over the years, even if it was wrong. This quote might just sum up my last 15 years at HP. Ok, maybe you don’t have to love Niels Bohr, but I’ll bet he was a pretty likeable guy.
“The better part of one’s life consists of his friendships.” –Abraham Lincoln
Alright, here’s where it gets misty. In my time here I have met many people. Over the last two weeks, I’ve spoken with many of you about the respect I have for you, how much I appreciate our friendship and all the hours we’ve spent together. Some have said extremely nice things to me that really made me feel good. While the future is uncertain, my friendship and respect for you will endure. People like Bill Stickle, Tom Leen, Dave Kamp and Ron Hellekson have provided me with some great role models. I will take the examples they have given me into my next career and for the rest of my life. All are excellent scientists and people I would call friends any day of the week, even on Saturday. There are more but the list would get long. You know who you are or at least I hope you do. Maybe I’ll write a book someday and be able to thank some more people. Or maybe something will hatch in my brain and it will write the book for me.
“I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word of what I am saying.” –Oscar Wilde
This has carried me a long way. All the tours, training, projects and new tools, sometimes I wonder how much of it was intelligence and how much it was just being clever and imaginative. I sincerely hope that all of you who have come through the SEM lab at one time or another have walked away with some bit of valuable knowledge or a piece of my enthusiasm and felt better for it.
“Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.” –The King (Alice in Wonderland)
That is the end.
In the spirit of the cross-tech meeting [a large weekly engineering meeting], I figured I’d guide my way through this with some quotes that seemed appropriate.
“He that will not sail till all dangers are over must never put to sea.” -Thomas Fuller
It seems fitting, considering the state of things. I hope my boat doesn’t sink.
“I hope some animal never bores a hole in my head and lays its eggs in my brain because later you might think you’re having a good idea but it’s just eggs hatching.” –Jack Handy
Maybe this explains why this felt like a good idea back in June but now seems a little scary. Maybe it wasn’t so much a good idea as it was hatching eggs short-circuiting my brain.
“An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes he can make, in a narrow field.” –Niels Bohr
You’ve got to love Niels Bohr. His old model of the atom has been very useful training tool over the years, even if it was wrong. This quote might just sum up my last 15 years at HP. Ok, maybe you don’t have to love Niels Bohr, but I’ll bet he was a pretty likeable guy.
“The better part of one’s life consists of his friendships.” –Abraham Lincoln
Alright, here’s where it gets misty. In my time here I have met many people. Over the last two weeks, I’ve spoken with many of you about the respect I have for you, how much I appreciate our friendship and all the hours we’ve spent together. Some have said extremely nice things to me that really made me feel good. While the future is uncertain, my friendship and respect for you will endure. People like Bill Stickle, Tom Leen, Dave Kamp and Ron Hellekson have provided me with some great role models. I will take the examples they have given me into my next career and for the rest of my life. All are excellent scientists and people I would call friends any day of the week, even on Saturday. There are more but the list would get long. You know who you are or at least I hope you do. Maybe I’ll write a book someday and be able to thank some more people. Or maybe something will hatch in my brain and it will write the book for me.
“I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word of what I am saying.” –Oscar Wilde
This has carried me a long way. All the tours, training, projects and new tools, sometimes I wonder how much of it was intelligence and how much it was just being clever and imaginative. I sincerely hope that all of you who have come through the SEM lab at one time or another have walked away with some bit of valuable knowledge or a piece of my enthusiasm and felt better for it.
“Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.” –The King (Alice in Wonderland)
That is the end.
2 comments:
"Sometimes I am so clever that no one understands me." - Lynn C. Rivett
Ken, do you know this guy and does he have a new job lined up?
Also, do you know imagitext?
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