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Tony Hsieh has died

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Re: Tony Hsieh has died

#231

Post by vaxman »

I was moderated for commenting about stuff like this in response to someone comparing him to Jobs. Not enough of us old guard spoke up when Jobs died, a book was released and kids started dropping acid and pulling Theranos scams on all different levels because of the distortions in it. Speaking up now with facts about Hsieh, whom I have first hand knowledge of, but since my own opinion cost me, here is history lesson...

https://www.vox.com/2014/10/1/11631452/the-downtown-project-...

Re: Tony Hsieh has died

#233

Post by dkersten »

xoxoy wrote: post #225
simias wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure what's unusual about this. Fires at night are dangerous because people sleep so they're more likely to be caught by surprise when the fire is already completely out of control. All it takes is an electrical spark, a candle they forgot to put out, a heater too close to some fabric and you got yourself a fire. Frankly this internet sleuthing is rather pointless and, in my opinion, in rather bad taste.

you’re assuming he was sleeping...nothing in the article says that he was asleep in his bedroom when this happened. it also doesn’t explain why the firefighters say he was “trapped in a portion of the house” and they had to “force entry”. implies there was some blockade within the house that prevented them from easily getting to him.

If there was a fire elsewhere in my house while I was in my bedroom and I didn't notice (because I was sleeping or otherwise), its highly likely I'd be trapped too, depending on where the fire started. If fire is between me and an exit, then I'm trapped.

While the article doesn't say he was sleeping, it also doesn't say he wasn't. You can't assume either way, but you seem to be assuming that because it doesn't say, it means he wasn't.

Re: Tony Hsieh has died

#234

Post by loeg »

xoxoy wrote: post #188
tyingq wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like he died some time after the house fire, due to the injuries incurred. "Tony Hsieh, the former CEO of Zappos, died peacefully and surrounded by family on Friday, according to a statement emailed to CNN by Megan Fazio, a spokesperson for DTP Companies, a Las Vegas-based enterprise for which Hsieh served as the visionary. Hsieh, 46, died from injuries sustained in a house fire that occurred in Connecticut wh…

Found it very strange to say that he died “peacefully” when he died because of injuries from a house fire a week earlier.

It's a polite euphemism.

Re: Tony Hsieh has died

#236

Post by bdcravens »

I didn't know much of Tony TBH, but a simple customer service interaction with Zappos still ranks as the best experience I've had. It was pre-Amazon, so directly influenced by the culture he put into place.

Re: Tony Hsieh has died

#237

Post by libraryatnight »

xoxoy wrote: post #225
simias wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure what's unusual about this. Fires at night are dangerous because people sleep so they're more likely to be caught by surprise when the fire is already completely out of control. All it takes is an electrical spark, a candle they forgot to put out, a heater too close to some fabric and you got yourself a fire. Frankly this internet sleuthing is rather pointless and, in my opinion, in rather bad taste.

you’re assuming he was sleeping...nothing in the article says that he was asleep in his bedroom when this happened. it also doesn’t explain why the firefighters say he was “trapped in a portion of the house” and they had to “force entry”. implies there was some blockade within the house that prevented them from easily getting to him.

stop. just stop speculating. you have the news article, that's it. you know nothing. this is not helpful, it's not interesting, you're not doing anything productive. this is wrong and it's sick.

Re: Tony Hsieh has died

#238

Post by coliveira »

vaxman wrote: post #231

I was moderated for commenting about stuff like this in response to someone comparing him to Jobs. Not enough of us old guard spoke up when Jobs died, a book was released and kids started dropping acid and pulling Theranos scams on all different levels because of the distortions in it. Speaking up now with facts about Hsieh, whom I have first hand knowledge of, but since my own opinion cost me, here is history lesson…

The explanation is here: "if we negate the negative emotions in our lives, it takes us away from happiness and brings around shame. The whole idea of Downtown is grand and wonderful and purposeful, but sometimes the way we’re going about it isn’t psychologically healthy."

This is a big weakness of the "feel good" culture, people don't know how to handle unavoidable negative emotions.

Re: Tony Hsieh has died

#239

Post by chrisin2d »

max_ wrote: post #203

One thing I admired about this guy where his stoic tendencies. He was worth $800 million bit he slept in an airstream[0]. [0]: https://www.businessinsider.com/llamapolis-las-vegas-trailer...

I don't think that he was necessarily 'stoic' in the ascetic sense. He was down-to-earth and preferred creating and transforming things over simple conspicuous consumption. He did big stuff like founding companies and revitalizing downtown Las Vegas and smaller stuff like turning a parking lot into a vibrant, artsy micro-community and creating a co-living community with his friends in SF after his first company acquisition. (According to his book.)

I have mad respect for Tony. He was creative and didn't let money or the desire for status get in the way of what he thought truly mattered. He focused on fostering interpersonal connection and creating new things.

What a cool, one-of-a-kind dude.

Re: Tony Hsieh has died

#240

Post by aqme28 »

xwdv wrote: post #198
wyldfire wrote: post #195

Seems short on details, so I was curious. These articles [1,2,3] may be referring to the fire in question. And this [4] seems to be the property. [1] https://www.theday.com/article/20201118/NWS04/201119437 [2] https://www.fox61.com/article/news/local/new-london-house-fi... [3] https://www.wfsb.com/news/crews-rescue-person-from-burning-n... [4] https://www.compass.com/listing/500-pequot-avenue-new-london...

I've never been in a raging fire, but the property seems to be very open and spacious with no obvious choke points, how does one end up so trapped, and without realizing a fire is breaking out? My guess is he passed out from the smoke inhalation first while asleep and was burned.

Everyone underestimates how fast house fires can grow. You can go from ignition to full raging everything-is-on-fire flashover in 3 minutes.
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