The Sunday, May 8 edition of the San Francisco Chronicle featured an interview with Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, who held forth on the company's competition with SAP, his competitive instincts as they related to sports competition and ownership, and how he feels after turning 60 years old.

Ellison also revealed in the interview that the creation of an impromptu shrine at former PeopleSoft headquarters in Pleasanton, CA, bemoaning the company's takeover by Oracle, apparently caught his eye. He spoke disdainfully of those whom he believes to be the marketing people behind the shrine, in contrast to engineers who presumably had nothing to do with it.

The outtake from the interview appears below. Who says business is all about the numbers and is not personal?

SF Chronicle: Does it bother you that PeopleSoft employees resisted your takeover bid?

Ellison: I think engineers are very funny. Different groups reacted differently. Some of the marketing people were very emotional and set up little -- I don't know -- shrines to the company (laughs). Peculiar thing. The engineers were saying, "Well, I just hope I get a parking space closer to my office (laughs). The engineers were very funny. You can decide which is better. It's up to you.

Chronicle: Well, those two groups had very different job prospects.

Ellison: Yeah. And we offered 90 percent of the engineers that were from PeopleSoft jobs. And 99 percent that we offered jobs, took the job.

Did These Folks Pray to the Wrong God?

Chronicle: What percentage was it for marketing?

Ellison: Less. There are a lot fewer people in marketing communications.

Chronicle: So the shrines didn't work out.

Ellison: The shrines prayed to the wrong god, obviously.