Randy Pausch是美国卡内基梅隆大学的计算机科学、人机交互及设计教授。2006年9月，他被诊断患有胰腺癌。2007年9月18日，他在卡内基梅隆大学做了一场风靡全美的“最后的演讲”，根据这次演讲，他出版的“The Last Lecture”一书则成为亚马逊网站上最为畅销的书籍之一。Randy教授所传达的讯息之所以如此震撼人心，是因为他以诚恳、幽默的态度去分享他独特的经验。他谈的不是死亡，而是人生中的重要议题，包括克服障碍、实现儿时梦想、帮助别人实现梦想、把握每一个时刻……

Hints:
University of Virginia
Virtual Reality on Five Dollars a Day
a half-million dollars
Hewlett-Packard
Disney Imagineering
Aladdin
Jon Snoddy
Imagineer
White House
California
Neptune
Fast-forward to 1995. I'd become a professor at the University of Virginia, and I'd helped build a system called "Virtual Reality on Five Dollars a Day." This was at a time when virtual reality experts were insisting they'd need a half-million dollars to do anything. And my colleagues and I did our own little version of the Hewlett-Packard garage thing and hacked together a working low-budget virtual reality system. People in the computer science world thought this was pretty great. Not too long after, I learned that Disney Imagineering was working on a virtual reality project. It was top secret, and it was an Aladdin attraction that would allow people to ride a magic carpet. I called Disney and explained that I was a virtual reality researcher looking for information on it. I was ridiculously persistent, and I kept getting passed on and on until I was connected to a guy named Jon Snoddy. He happened to be the brilliant Imagineer running the team. I felt as if I had called the White House and been put through to the president. After we chatted a while, I told Jon I'd be coming to California. Could we get together? (Truth was, if he said yes, the only reason I'd be coming would be to see him. I'd have gone to Neptune to see him!) He told me OK. If I was coming anyway, we could have lunch.