Author Topic: EBay Executive Salvatierra Killed By Train  (Read 1370 times)

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John

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EBay Executive Salvatierra Killed By Train
« on: March 13, 2012, 06:10:12 AM »
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http://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/2012/03/12/ebay-executive-salvatierra-killed-by-train/

SAN FRANCISCO –  An executive at eBay Inc.'s (EBAY) PayPal business who had served as finance chief at the company's former Internet calling unit Skype was struck and killed by a train in Silicon Valley on Friday.

Eric Salvatierra was 39. He was hit by a Caltrain commuter train in Menlo Park, Calif.

Ed Kapuscinski

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Re: EBay Executive Salvatierra Killed By Train
« Reply #1 on: March 13, 2012, 10:43:03 AM »
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Dumbass.

Dave Schneider

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Re: EBay Executive Salvatierra Killed By Train
« Reply #2 on: March 13, 2012, 10:55:14 AM »
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Well that is a bit harsh....don't you think? 

Best wishes, Dave
If you lend someone $20, and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

Bob Bufkin

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Re: EBay Executive Salvatierra Killed By Train
« Reply #3 on: March 13, 2012, 11:19:34 AM »
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Maybe a bit harsh but I think the whole Paypal bunch are dumpasses.  Recently someone tried to buy almost $800.00 of merchandise on my account.  Lucky my credit card company (Visa in this case) called me to verify.  Third time this had happened and you wonder why I don't like Paypal.

Dave V

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Re: EBay Executive Salvatierra Killed By Train
« Reply #4 on: March 13, 2012, 11:43:49 AM »
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Well that is a bit harsh....don't you think? 

Best wishes, Dave

I don't know...  It's pretty easy to avoid getting hit by a train.  Stay off the damn tracks.  Unless you want to be hit by one.

C855B

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Re: EBay Executive Salvatierra Killed By Train
« Reply #5 on: March 13, 2012, 11:58:19 AM »
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Having lived on the SF Peninsula with these "easy money" tech billionaires, I can attest there's an attitude problem. New money, especially extreme new money, doesn't understand restraint and discretion like old money. I will bet a Franklin that he was trying to beat the train just so he wouldn't have to wait the 10 minutes for the next one - Menlo Park has at-grade pedestrian crossings.

Anyway, as far the "easy money" part - just imagine if your ballasting technique was suddenly the rage and everybody in the world threw money at you for it. That's what we're talking about here - computer hobbyists who were playing around and made something fun and possibly useful, and struck oil with it. That it's happening over and over again has me scratching my head.

Dave Schneider

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Re: EBay Executive Salvatierra Killed By Train
« Reply #6 on: March 13, 2012, 01:28:07 PM »
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I don't know...  It's pretty easy to avoid getting hit by a train.  Stay off the damn tracks.  Unless you want to be hit by one.

Fair point Dave. I just think calling someone a dumbass without any details on the circumstances is a bit harsh. It implies that the rest of us are smarter, when in reality we are all subject to the consequences of a lapse of attention or an error in judging speed and distance.  Not trying to be internet cop or anything, just one of my buttons I guess. Sad for all involved.

Best wishes, Dave

P.S. Just ran across this story: http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_20159824/paypal-exec-killed-caltrain-tracks-had-bipolar-disorder
Leaves behind a wife and three young girls. Traumatized train crew and witnesses..... Really sad.
« Last Edit: March 13, 2012, 09:20:16 PM by Dave Schneider »
If you lend someone $20, and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

Ed Kapuscinski

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Re: EBay Executive Salvatierra Killed By Train
« Reply #7 on: March 13, 2012, 11:23:56 PM »
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I stand by my statement. It is very easy NOT to get killed by a train.

To accidentally get killed by a train (as a civilian), you need to be doing something dumb (like trespassing, crossing when the gates were down, or at the very least not paying attention to your surroundings).

To intentionally get killed by a train is a horribly selfish way to kill yourself (I fully believe in one's right to end their own life, but I also believe you shouldn't ruin the lives of others around you to do it, and if harsh words prevent people from doing it, so be it).

Dave Schneider

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Re: EBay Executive Salvatierra Killed By Train
« Reply #8 on: March 14, 2012, 12:25:13 AM »
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I understand your point Ed, and agree with you in part. However, mental illness (if that is a factor in this case) is not a selfish choice or a moral failure. I have been down this road several times with family members, and once with a friend. In one case, it ended well, in one it ended in tragedy, and in one case it remains to be seen what will happen.  Descent into mental illness is a terrible thing to witness and experience. I don't wish it on anyone, in part because of the stigma involved. 

Best wishes, Dave
If you lend someone $20, and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

Ian MacMillan

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Re: EBay Executive Salvatierra Killed By Train
« Reply #9 on: March 14, 2012, 05:36:23 AM »
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I understand your point Ed, and agree with you in part. However, mental illness (if that is a factor in this case) is not a selfish choice or a moral failure. I have been down this road several times with family members, and once with a friend. In one case, it ended well, in one it ended in tragedy, and in one case it remains to be seen what will happen.  Descent into mental illness is a terrible thing to witness and experience. I don't wish it on anyone, in part because of the stigma involved. 

Best wishes, Dave

No no, he was referring to using the train as being selfish, not the act of suicide its self.
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Ed Kapuscinski

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Re: EBay Executive Salvatierra Killed By Train
« Reply #10 on: March 14, 2012, 10:19:16 AM »
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No no, he was referring to using the train as being selfish, not the act of suicide its self.

Correct.

lock4244

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Re: EBay Executive Salvatierra Killed By Train
« Reply #11 on: March 14, 2012, 02:38:05 PM »
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Ed is a Gentleman and a poet. His eloquent summary is indeed correct.

To run infront of a train isn't tragic, it's ********. I feel for the crew and the folks that had to see that... yuck.

Dave Schneider

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Re: EBay Executive Salvatierra Killed By Train
« Reply #12 on: March 14, 2012, 02:52:04 PM »
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Well, I like to think that we are all gentlemen here....

My point is that this to be a selfish or dumbass action, a person needs to be able to make rational and logical choices. Mental illness robs people of their abilities to do this. Trust me, I have seen people who cannot make an informed or thoughtful choice about their safety or the impact of their actions on others. Whether this was the case in this situation remains to be seen and will likely never be known. To me, the question of whether the deceased was a "victim" here remains an open question. Others may disagree and that is their right.

Thanks for the respectful debate here...I think I will sign off now.
Best wishes, Dave
If you lend someone $20, and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

DKS

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Re: EBay Executive Salvatierra Killed By Train
« Reply #13 on: March 14, 2012, 03:29:05 PM »
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My S.O. has Bipolar II. I've been with her almost ten years, and I've learned a great deal about it. If indeed this accident was suicide brought on by the disease, then we must all (particularly Ed) cut the guy some slack. Did he traumatize the the train crew? Yes. Was that wrong? Yes. That said, it's extremely difficult for us to fully appreciate what this disease is capable of causing a person to feel. They can act quite rationally one minute, and irrationally the next, and it takes an enormous amount of patience and understanding for loved ones to deal with it.

My (strong) recommendation is to leave this topic alone. It is not well suited for extreme positions.