When I was a kid, programmers - the elders, those whose lives and achievements had been described in all my introductory books - seemed to be immortal, because all these people who changed the world and created the wonderful universe of computers and software - they were all alive then (at least those I knew and cared about). That time is long gone now... and we are no longer immortal. We have lost so many of our kind. And today, we have lost yet another titan. R.I.P. Paul Allen. The world will remember you. And the kids of tomorrow, and the day after that will still discover our wonderful world reading books mentioning and revering your name. Alas, in the past tense now. Goodbye.