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Google Executive Dan Fredinburg Among Victims of Everest Avalanche
alphadogg writes: Dan Fredinburg, privacy director for the company's Google X team, and an engineer who worked on many of Google's most exciting projects during his 8 years with the company, died over the weekend in an avalanche on Mount Everest. The 33-year-old worked on projects such as Google Loon, the company's balloon-based Internet access effort and self-driving car. He also was involved in Google Street View Everest, leading expeditions to gather imagery of the Khumbu region around Mt. Everest. Fredinburg's career began in a much less glamorous fashion as a "dock rat" and as a farm hand in Arkansas.
That's too bad. Why is this on slashdot?
Granted the other 1000+ who have died are mostly poor, but on the other hand, they have not done the social harm that Mr Fredinburg has in working for the biggest destroyer of privacy on the planet.
And the 10's of thousands of others who didn't die but were displaced and had their homes destroyed cannot easily afford to replace them. Possibly because they did not enrich themselves at the expense of everyone else's privacy.
Base Camp on Mount Everest; not a bad place to kick off, all thing considered...
Hopefully there was a pitcher of Mai-Tais and some native girls. :)
Truth isn't Truth - Guliani
I'm voting for Fluttershy, you insensitive clod!
I mean, if it's okay with you...
Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
With all due respects to Mr. Fredinburg, climbing Mr. Everest is now the "in" thing to do for the elites, to the point that the area is strewn with garbage and human excrement that would take years to be cleansed by natural means even if all climbing were to cease today.
2,500 people died and a poor country is devastated and all that makes the news is one dead American. Disgusting.
It dies with its teeth in the enemy's throat,
It dies with its name on the enemy's tongue.
For just as mere life is not victory,
Mere death is not defeat;
And in the next world I shall kill the foe a thousand times,
Laughing,
Undefeated.
"To those who are overly cautious, everything is impossible. "
Climbing Everest is stupid, irresponsible, dangerous, pointless task for people with severe mental problems like constantly needing approval from others or pathological levels of arrogance or constantly feeling inadequate. So I have to wonder how he even got that job at Google with the personality of an Everest climber.
When these amateurs start climbing it again WITHOUT a slew of sherpas, and oxygen tanks and using ACTUAL expert mountaineers to hold their hands, then I'll be impressed.
Comparing the conditions under which people like Sir Edmund Hilary climbed to today's rich, trendy yuppies like this guy -- well, clearly times are different.
It was very tragic for the Nepalese people as well.
I feel sorry for the people grieving today for lost loved ones. But I'm getting a bit tired of the tiny number of climbers and tourists that died completely dominating the news. Thousands of Nepalese died. Their loved ones may have trouble even surviving, going forward. Let's not forget about them.
#DeleteChrome
So that annoying pedants like me have an excuse to point out that Everest is not the tallest mountain in the world (merely the highest) and that the thousands of people who insist on climbing it are overpaid, pretentious dicks who would rather brag about nearly dying of cerebral edema or hypothermia than do something like climb Kilimanjaro (the tallest above-sea mountain in the world), which is a longer and much more scenic climb.
Glad someone else agrees. fuck Google and fuck this spoiled rich cunt who died
Part of why he was there was to "save the ice".
In the end the ice didn't care.
There's a joke to be had there, but even though I disagreed with his mission, it's a real loss to us all when anyone dies. I'm sure there are many that miss him, condolences to all.
Apparently we don't care about a terrible natural disaster unless some famous white guy, livin' the dream for his Googlionaire foundation, dies in an avalanche.
The world has looked the other way for a long time at the exploitation of the Sherpa and the other problems caused by rich Westerners, many not well-qualified, who feel they just have to make the Everest attempt. It's mostly the Sherpa who pay the toll.
...days later...
About time. Google sucks at life.
You are not a troll. You are a spammer. Please go away.
It was time for a reduction in head count.
putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
His GOOG palm crystal changed color.
I climb mountains as a hobby, and know many climbers, a large proportion of whom are geeks who are disinterested in team sports. It's a hobby like any other physical hobby. It brings risk, but also enormous enjoyment from the combination of experiencing the raw beauty of nature where there are very few others with the challenge and thrill of reaching a summit. We climb a peak not to show off; we climb it because it is there. A tiny fraction of mountaineers are interested in bragging rights (except, perhaps, amongst themselves in a good-spirited manner), so your slight against us is rude and ignorant. Fuck you!
"Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason."
I'm voting for a mentally retarded republican in 2016 because I'm an abject retard myself.
Can't you Hillary supporters stay silent even for a moment out of respect?
According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Fredinburg , he was a product manager who worked on Google X projects. What real engineering work did he do?
OK, I googled "sucks at life", and all I got was some Urban Dictionary crap... your point is?
Figures the "Privacy Director" at Google would be out climbing Mt. Everest.
So you're saying Google is looking to fill a high-paying executive position?
Too soon?
I didn't realize these people were being held on the mountain against their will. You knew the risks when you signed up to climb this mountain. This immediately takes away all "tragedy" and victim-hood from anyone who was killed or injured in this event. Sorry. It isn't a tragedy when you're playing Russian Roulette and your chamber has the bullet in it.
long ago. The oxygen bottles, sherpas, packaged guide services, gourmet food, bridged/extension laddered/roped route "improvements", and instant cell phone/radio communication have made it a circus. I understand why it still appeals to arrogant assholes though... but, it's similar to state of the art "sport" fishing and hunting, which, (in a similar way) "enhanced" by sonar fish locators, high speed fishing boats, carbon fiber rods, laser sighting, tree stands, scent masking, baiting, and "canned" hunts, has become spiritually bankrupt. I wish we could all stop admiring these narcissistic activities.
The USA is only 4X older than me...perspective