I'm deeply saddened by the news that the search for Jim Gray is to be called off. (http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/16591383.htm)

I met and got to spend some time with him in late 2004 and ended up getting him to do a podcast with me in 2005 (www.sqldownunder.com - see show 9). Jim is a true pioneer in the database industry. Very few people can say to you things like "when we designed SQL..." and mean the language, not some product based on it.

While I'd love to think this might still end well, it's not looking good.