*Sir Isaac Newton, who formulated the laws of motion and gravity so accurately that we still use them three centuries later to explore the solar system. But who, while keeper of the treasury of England, enjoyed interrogating counterfeiters and sending them to the gallows. It was said of him, that "As a man he was a failure. As a monster, he was superb." ----------------- *Richard Feynman, the century's most brilliant and unusual thinker. Isaac Newton spoke of having stood on the shoulders of giants. Feynman tried to stand on his own. *Carl Sagan who was instrumental in capturing the imagination of the public and instilling in all of us an appreciation for the wonder and importance of science. *Albert Pacifico, arguably one of the best heart surgeons in the world. Since coming to the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1967 to complete his surgery training, he has become one of the most sought-after heart surgeons. Where many heart surgeons perform 150 operations a year, Pacifico may exceed that many in six weeks. His average is 1,200 a year. *Albert Einstein, who single-handedly formulated one of the two great scientific principles of the twentieth century, and helped lay the foundation for the other - the General Theory of Relativity and the Theory of Quantum Mechanics, respectively. *Stephen Hawking, possibly the greatest theoretical physicist since Einstein. Supposed to have been dead long ago from Lou Gherrig's disease, almost totally paralyzed from the disease, unable to talk because of throat surgery a few years ago, he nevertheless fills the chair of Lucasion Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge -- the same professorship that Newton held three centuries ago. *Marion Tinsley, the perennial world checkers champion who is widely regarded as the game's best player ever. He died in April of 1995, five years after he ran out of worthy human opponents and had to win his last titles by beating ever more powerful computers. *Charles Darwin, who laid the foundation for all of modern biology. *Jared Diamond - author, ornithologist, and Professor of Geography and Physiology at UCLA. *Donald E. Knuth - Professor Emeritus of The Art of Computer Programming at Stanford University. ------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- LAST, BUT DEFINITLY NOT LEAST, I WOULD LOVE TO MEET KAREN. SHE IS A BEAUTIFUL YOUNG WOMAN FROM NY. I CAN'T WAIT TO MEET YOU!a