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Jim Gray Is Missing

Posted by kdawson on from the red-sky-at-night dept.

K-Man writes "Jim Gray, Turing Award winner and developer of many fundamental database technologies, was reported missing at sea after a short solo sailing trip to the Farallon Islands off San Francisco. Gray is manager of Microsoft's eScience group. The Coast Guard is searching for his vessel over 4,000 square miles of ocean, and there have been no distress calls or signals of any kind. Gray is 63 and a sailor with 10 years' experience."

21 of 283 comments (clear)

  1. The plot thickens! by Schraegstrichpunkt · · Score: 4, Funny

    Jim Gray, Turing Award winner and developer of many fundamental database technologies ...

    Isn't reiserfs organized sort of like a database?

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  2. I know what happened.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    he accidently did a Cartesian Join, and flooded the boat

    1. Re:I know what happened.... by Gospodin · · Score: 3, Funny

      Sure, but sometimes you're stuck with the design you're given. :) OP used name fields, so I did, too. But the query could be improved without changing the DDL.

      Say, did you hear that Jim Gray is missing? I think the topic is several miles over thataway *gesturing*.

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      ...following the principles of Heisenburger's Uncertain Cat...
  3. Re:You don't think by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    All Hans on deck...

  4. Hm... by Cyberax · · Score: 5, Funny

    > SELECT loc FROM Locations loc, People p WHERE p.name="Jim Gray" AND p.loc=loc.id

    The query returned 0 results.

    1. Re:Hm... by tedivm · · Score: 4, Funny

      He probably drowned himself when he realized that the majority of the world learned SQL from a tee shirt, and just like the shirt [http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts/coder/595d/], you forgot the semi-colon.

    2. Re:Hm... by Cyberax · · Score: 5, Funny

      Actually, my development environment does not require semicolons after lone SQL statements. Besides, when you embed SQL statements in code using JDBC/DBI/... you also don't need semicolons.

      And I don't like semicolons because one time I accidentally typed "DELETE FROM Table; WHERE ..." on a production database. Luckily, one entry had a constraint which forced transaction to rollback.

  5. Sounds like... by macadamia_harold · · Score: 3, Funny

    The Coast Guard is searching for his vessel over 4,000 square miles of ocean

    Sounds like Gray's Anatomy is meeting up with Gray's Marine Biology.

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    Push Button, Receive Bacon
  6. Re:You don't think by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Poor joke. I will kill you with my bare Hans for that one.

  7. technologist needs to use technology? by somewhere+in+AU · · Score: 3, Funny

    Easy simple and cheap to hookup live GPS for realtime tracking and updating to a mapserver.. I do it in my car even when in civilisation.. let alone if I was going out to sea or up in the sky over wilderness!

    If he's with Microsoft then has enough $ to buy satellite comms if *really* out of cheap-to-use standard mobile range..

    I wish them all the best but if they had his track and time could concentrate in that area straight away instead of 4000 sq km of guessing and save precious time..

    Why don't technologists with (or even without!) money USE the readily available technology for such basic primary safety?

  8. Re:It's OK by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    For a second there, I thought Slashdot would drop this stupid anti-Microsoft bullshit and at least show some compassion.

    If you come to slashdot for compassion, then I DO feel sorry for you.

  9. Uh-oh. by Jello+B. · · Score: 5, Funny

    I hope this turns out to be better than Mario is Missing.

  10. Re:You don't think by poopdeville · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'd rather use a Hans held knife.

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    After all, I am strangely colored.
  11. Re:It's sad really. by Jello+B. · · Score: 5, Funny

    What's even sadder is that Ballmer & Gates weren't with him....But w
    Wait, why isn't that thought finished? Did somebody mention Candlejack? Now there are two people mi
  12. Negative comments by Sabathius · · Score: 5, Funny

    I heard he made an anti-microsoft comment and a chair hit the side of his boat.

    1. Re:Negative comments by Bruce_of_the_Cosmos · · Score: 3, Funny

      Well that's highly unlikely, unless Ballmer's developed some kind of long range chair canno-- Oh god...

  13. Re:Was using MS Sailor 2007 XP by SeaFox · · Score: 3, Funny

    Cue up the jokes about how he shouldn't have automated his sailboat using Windows. Now facing the Blue Wave of Death.
    And now, the Blue Wave of Death is rendered in glass-like clarity!*
    .
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    *Tsunami Premium or Ultimate and supported tidal card required
  14. Re:Penguins by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Funny

    This is one of the moments when I wish the Linux mascot was a dolphin.

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  15. I had the pleasure... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    of meeting Jim a number of years ago. He struck me as a very thoughtful, very conscientious, and very nice man. My thoughts are with him and his family.

    The rest of you modding and getting modded funny can die in a fire.

  16. Re:You don't think by kv9 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Hans shot first? /ducks

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    Stop Computers/Cars Analogies on S
  17. Please show some respect! by Bob+Cat+-+NYMPHS · · Score: 4, Funny

    Do not make any sick jokes until AFTER a trragedy is confirmed.

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