Larry Ellison's (Oracle's CEO) Commencement Address at Yale University

"Graduates of Yale University, I apologize if you have endured this type of prologue before, but I want you to do something for me. Please, take a good look around you. Look at the classmate on your left. Look at the classmate on your right. Now, consider this: five years from now, 10 years from now, even 30 years from now, odds are the person on your left is going to be a loser. The person on your right, meanwhile, will also be a loser. And you, in the middle? What can you expect? Loser. Loserhood. Loser Cum Laude.

"In fact, as I look out before me today, I don't see a thousand hopes for a bright tomorrow. I don't see a thousand future leaders in a thousand industries. I see a thousand losers.

"You're upset. That's understandable. After all, how can I, Lawrence 'Larry' Ellison, college dropout, have the audacity to spout such heresy to the graduating class of one of the nation's most prestigious institutions? I'll tell you why. Because I, Lawrence "Larry" Ellison, second richest man on the planet, am a college dropout, and you are not.

"Because Bill Gates, richest man on the planet -- for now, anyway -- is a college dropout, and you are not.

"Because Paul Allen, the third richest man on the planet, dropped out of college, and you did not.

"And for good measure, because Michael Dell, No. 9 on the list and moving up fast, is a college dropout, and you, yet again, are not.

"Hmm... you're very upset. That's understandable. So let me stroke your egos for a moment by pointing out, quite sincerely, that your diplomas were not attained in vain. Most of you, I imagine, have spent four to five years here, and in many ways what you've learned and endured will serve you well in the years ahead. You've established good work habits. You've established a network of people that will help you down the road. And you've established what will be lifelong relationships with the word 'therapy.' All that of is good. For in truth, you will need that network. You will need those strong work habits. You will need that therapy.

"You will need them because you didn't drop out, and so you will never be among the richest people in the world. Oh sure, you may, perhaps, work your way up to No. 10 or No. 11, like Steve Ballmer. But then, I don't have to tell you who he really works for, do I? And for the record, he dropped out of grad school. Bit of a late bloomer.

"Finally, I realize that many of you, and hopefully by now most of you, are wondering, 'Is there anything I can do? Is there any hope for me at all?' Actually, no. It's too late. You've absorbed too much, think you know too much. You're not 19 anymore. You have a built-in cap, and I'm not referring to the mortar boards on your heads.

"Hmm... you're really very upset. That's understandable. So perhaps this would be a good time to bring up the silver lining. Not for you, Class of '00. You are a write-off, so I'll let you slink off to your pathetic $200,000-a-year jobs, where your checks will be signed by former classmates who dropped out two years ago.

"Instead, I want to give hope to any underclassmen here today. I say to you, and I can't stress this enough: leave. Pack your things and your ideas and don't come back. Drop out. Start up.

"For I can tell you that a cap and gown will keep you down just as surely as these security guards dragging me off this stage are keeping me dow..."

Rail leading to the death camp. (Auschwitz)

In some camps, such as Auschwitz, those fit for work would be kept alive for a while, but eventually all would be killed.

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

..about to shoot a man sitting by a mass grave..

in 1942. Present in the background are members of the German Army, the German Labor Service, and the Hitler Youth.The back of the photograph is inscribed "The last Jew in Vinnitsa".

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

600 Feet deep crater

When Asteroids come too near Earth, they usually burn up in Earth's atmosphere. Sometimes a fragment does reach the ground, leaving a large crater like this one near Winslow, Arizona. It is 600 feet deep and nearly a mile across.

Yahoo Music - Trend (I was shocked it's Prince)

Awesome Feats of Migrators

The arctic tern migrates 22,000 miles every year

How does this warbler with a brain the size of a pea know so much about weather and navigation?








When migrating, this hummingbird beats its wings up to 75 times a second for 25 hours.

Underwater breathing - Who did it first?

People strap tanks of air to their backs and remain under water for up to an hour. Certain water beetles do it more simply and stay under longer. They grab a bubble of air and submerge. The bubble serves as a lung. It takes carbon dioxide from the beetle and diffuses it into the water, and takes oxygen dissolved in the water for the beetle to use.

The majestic giant and of the tiny seed that packages it

One of the smallest seeds has package within it the biggest living thing on earth - the giant sequoia tree. It grows over 300 feet high. Four feet above the ground its diameter may be 36 feet. One tree may contain enough wood to build 50 six-room houses. The two-foot-thick bark is flavored with tannin that repels insects, and its spongy, fibrous texture makes it almost as fireproof as asbestos. Its roots cover three or four acres. It lives over 3,000 years. Yet the seeds that a sequoia tree rains down by the millions are not much bigger than a pinhead surrounded by tiny wings. A puny man standing at a sequoia's base can only gaze upward in silent awe at its massive grandeur.

Incubators - Who did it first?

Man makes incubators to hatch eggs, but in this he is a latecomer. Sea turtles and some birds lay their eggs in the warm sand for incubation. Other birds will lay their eggs in the warm ashes of volcanoes for hatching. Sometimes alligators will cover their eggs with decaying vegetables matter to produce heat. But in this the male mallee bird is the expert. He digs a big hole, fill it with vegetable matter and cover it with sand. The fermenting vegetation heats the mound, the female mallee bird lays an egg in it weekly for up to six months, and all that time the male checks the temperature by sticking his beak into the mound. By adding or removing sand, even in weather from below freezing to very hot, he keeps his incubator at 92 degrees Fahrenheit.

Emperor Penguins carry built-in nests

The male penguin puts the egg on his feet, which are richly supplied with blood vessels, and drapes over it a brood pouch that hangs down from his abdomen. Mother does not forget father and baby. Soon after the egg hatches, the mother returns with a stomach full of food that she regurgitates for them. Then the male goes off to fish while mother puts baby on her feet and drapes her brood pouch over it.