I counted Cary Lu as a good friend and I am very sad to now be living in a world without his unique light shining in it. Cary was an immensely gifted individual. He had studied physics under Richard Feynman, had worked in telecommunications, television, computers as well as in the hard sciences, spoke several languages quite proficiently and had a truly impressive wealth of knowledge at his disposal. While most of us think of him as a computer whiz, his knowledge of stereos and sound systems was unparalleled, as was his appreciation for, and knowledge of classical music.
Many things will remind me of Cary and will keep him alive in my memory. He helped me choose a monitor, annoyingly rejecting monitor after monitor until I had nearly despaired of finding one that would meet his stringent criterion. Each time I watch television, I will think of Cary's incisive criticism of popular television which was at once sharper and more pointedly factual and specific than my own traditional carping about the low quality of the programs. I will never listen to a stereo system without at least a fleeting thought for Cary's inevitable comment that the sound was terrible and that the speakers had this or that flaw, which wouldn't matter so much if it weren't for the cheap components used in the amplifier.
I take solace in the certainty that even now, he is critically reviewing God's choice of Macintosh and the software used to run the Pearly Gates.
Rest in peace, Cary.