Farewell to another pioneer

We owe what we have today, our computers and gadgets, to some great minds, great pioneers. Sadly, one of them has left us today. Douglas Engelbart, passed away in his home in Atherton, Cafilornia, at the age of 88.

Born in Oregon, he moved to California to become an investigator at the Stanford Research Institute in the 50's. His work as an engineer paved the way to modern computers. His research focused on video-conference, teleconference, e-mail, the UI windows, but was mostly known for inventing the mouse.

The first mouse was a wooden box with two metal wheels. The patent was requested in 1967 and granted in 1970. His research team was responsible for creating Arpanet. He was behind 21 patents and received in 2000 the National Medal of Technology, the highest distinction in the sector.

May he rest in peace. And thank you!

RIP Marty (Nyan Cat)

I really didn't know that a real cat inspired one of my favorite memes... Sadly, Marty passed away on Thursday. The cat was nearly 3 years old and was diagnosed with Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP), a fatal, incurable disease. Chis Torres, Marty's owner, adopted him in 2010 along with Buster, another cat who died of the same disease soon afterwards. The poor guy began acting strange last week, but after taking him to the vet, Torres tweeted

“Even with the medical treatment he received he still deteriorated quickly. I've been force feeding him and keeping him warm for three days”. 

Rest in peace, little buddy. Nyan will live on :)

For those of you that don't know Nyan Cat, watch the video below, from the very scientific team from KnowYourMeme.com.

(source)