What's your greatest achievement in life?

It's me coming in peace with the fact that I am just an actor in the grand scheme of things. It helped me keep my sanity, calm my nerves and focus on what I really want to do at the moment. It helped me acknowledge the forces beyond my control and changed the way I see the world. I think it made be more conservative about things but still it's an accomplishment that I am proud of!

I often noticed people asking me why I were chill in most situations.

I am most proud of still being married for 20+ years with 2 kids all the while being a full-time software manager and/or engineer.

On the technology front, I am very proud of many of the technologies that I worked on as a team member: evangelizing Java 2 Enterprise Edition and writing software for the Philips P100 Screen Phone.

I can't say that I changed the world or had any significant impact on technology. I gave it one hell of a try and met some amazing people along the way. One highlight: Larry Page gave me a tour of Stanford before he became famous and scolded me for suggesting that google.stanford.edu should be made into a business. I still have his student business card.

I’ve dived into and achieved a range of things that make me happy, from parenthood to best-selling books.

The one that most people want to hear more about is my Guinness World record for non-stop movie watching - https://jacobaldridge.com/quirky/guinness-world-record-longe...

(63 hours and 27 minutes; the current record is much higher, but they have changed the rules since we broke the record so it’s possible now to take short naps between movies!)

Among a certain demographic, my ‘Bogan Beer Wall’ is a great conversation starter - https://www.twitter.com/jacobaldridge/status/151855452120694...

This is an empty example of every different beer I have tried in my house since moving here in 2013, ranked by my tastes from most to least preferred. It was fairly pathetic for the first year or so, but I persevered and it now sits at 165 bottles.

Escaping the cult some refer to as "Mormonism" or the "LDS Church".

Making it on my own and thriving in Silicon Valley.

I have a feeling the best is yet to come. But time is running out.. we'll see.

I raised my son from 12 years when my wife died due to complications associated with MRSA and Endocorditis. My son stuck to scouting and became an Eagle Scout.

I have ppl who love me around me. Not many, but precious few… who really do love me :-)

Making the perfect noodle dish. Noodles are the base, and you can always try different ingredients when you get bored. Play around with mushrooms, shrimp, beef, and different sauces.

After years of frustration and questions, I think I am finally starting to understand Linux and why things are the way they are there.

Nothing. I'm not really that proud of anything.