Category: Obituary

In memoriam: Jerry Pournelle (1933 – 2017)

In memoriam: Jerry Pournelle (1933 – 2017)

| September 9, 2017 | Reply

I met and got to know Jerry Pournelle — and his sweet wife Roberta — over 30 years ago, when I started writing for BYTE Magazine. I already knew of Jerry because of his SF novels (“Lucifer’s Hammer” by him and Larry Niven remains my favorite end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it book) and his writings in BYTE. What I […]

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9/11/2001: In retrospect

9/11/2001: In retrospect

| September 11, 2011 | Reply

Here are our 9/11-related posts from this blog: In Memoriam: Ronald Paul Bucca (May 6, 1954 – September 11, 2001) In Memoriam: Robert David Peraza (May 26, 1971- September 11, 2001) “There are not many who remember…” A Day That Lives In Infamy Lest We Forget (2008) Lest We Forget (2007) Remembering the WTC Not […]

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A gentle giant passes

A gentle giant passes

| March 19, 2010 | Reply

And, yes, I had a coon-skin hat. Hat tip to Gerard Van der Leun. ..bruce w..

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Robert Parker, RIP

Robert Parker, RIP

| January 19, 2010 | Reply

One of my favorite modern authors, Robert B. Parker, died at home, literally while writing his next Spenser novel. I have read the whole Spenser series several times over the years and buy each new one as soon as it comes out in paperback. I wonder if he has tucked away in his files a […]

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Capitalism red in tooth and claw

Capitalism red in tooth and claw

| December 9, 2009 | Reply

Companies are born, live, thrive, dwindle, and then often die or are absorbed by other firms. Being 56 years old, I’ve seen a lot of that first-hand and have worked for several firms that no longer exist. Over at 24/7 Wall Street, Jon Ogg and Douglas McIntyre have picked ten brands that they think will […]

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Something I didn’t know about (the late) Ed McMahon

Something I didn’t know about (the late) Ed McMahon

| June 23, 2009 | 1 Reply

He served in two wars (WW II and Korea), flew 85 combat missions in Korea, and achieved the rank of Colonel in the USMC: When the United States began gearing up for World War II, McMahon wanted to become a Marine fighter pilot. Since the Navy’s V-5 program required two years of college, he enrolled […]

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Khan is gone

Khan is gone

| January 15, 2009 | Reply

Ricardo Montalban, one of the most distinctive and evocative voices from my childhood and early adulthood, died yesterday at age 88. No one could say “soft Corinthian leather” with quite the same intonation: And, of course, he earned geek/SF immortality with his role in “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan”, still the best of […]

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Be Seeing You…

Be Seeing You…

| January 14, 2009 | Reply

As has been reported elsewhere in the press, reclusive actor Patrick McGoohan died earlier today. The 17 episode series of “The Prisoner” was transformational in many ways for television. In an age of episodic television, where everything was resolved in 30 minutes and at the end nothing ever changes, McGoohan’s show was one enormous story […]

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