I think it was 1977 when I first met John at Cornell. He was a transfer student into the Mechanical Engineering program. You could tell he wasn't the same as the other students - for one thing he drove a small (Datsun?) pickup truck around often with a canoe in back. And he was always up for the more adventurous behaviors that would punctuate his life the whole time I've known him. On a 2-lane snow-covered street just off campus, with cars parked against the curb on both sides of the street he decided to see how slippery it was by hitting the brakes and performing a perfect 360 spin without hitting any vehicles, with me as passenger. I don't think the event would have been any more remarkable if he had hit one or two. The rest of us graduated in 1979, with John going out one semester early in January. John going first was going to be a steady theme with all my experiences of him. Turns out he left upstate New York for Silicon Valley the same as I would 6 months later. When I saw him next, he had just come off a dramatic hang glider crash. He liked the Bay Area so much he stayed there ever since. When it rained and the open drainage channels would fill with raging waters he would call and say "surfs up". Basically it was an invite to go canoing in urban white water - very illegal. I declined. Yes he flipped. Yes he had to recover his boat after it washed out. I don't know if he always escaped the law - I don't think he always did. Compared to his shool peers, John was first in everything. He got married first. He had a child first. He bought a house first. He went on trips to off-tourist Mexico first. Took a job at a big company (Lockheed) first. Then before us he realized startups was where it was at, so took a job at the legendary consumer robotics company - Nolan Bushnell's Androbot. He went through disk drives, electronic chip fabrication gear, jumped into cleantech via landfill gas-to-electricity, and along the way always mastered new disciplines the latest being 3D computer-aided design. When not tinkering on cars or motorcycles, he was off doing square dancing, epic bike trips or some other adventure. He was always diligent about keeping contact with all his friends who he held tight through all the years. I can say that was a huge personal gift to me. I have a time-lapsed photography version of meeting with him about 4-6 times a year the whole 35 years I've known him. A guy with a huge heart to match his huge voice. The world feels smaller without him. John, you went first. When we catch up to you next, I expect some more of your stories and a cold beer with lime waiting. www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH5xe-q00G4