Slashdot Mirror
Arthur C. Clarke Is Dead At 90
Many readers are sending in word that Arthur C. Clarke has died in Sri Lanka. He wrote over 100 books including 2001: A Space Odyssey and Rendezvous With Rama, and popularized the ideas of geosynchronous communications satellites and space elevators.
shame.
his earlier works were total classics. RIP.
It can only be attributable to human error.
Sigs cause cancer.
The world will miss him.
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Good man has died. R.I.P.
Who actually has done a lot to promote science. Ok, so he did a lot of Sci-Fi. But most scientists I know were drawn to it *because* of some of the sci-fi they had seen. A sad passing, not just for the cause of geeks and entertainment, but nerd and science.
Off to that big old Monolith in the Sky, I suppose
...Are Yours. Except for 2001 - attempt no more sequels there.
RIP, ACC.
If more world leaders would read sci-fi than westerns...
Such a terrible loss of someone who added untold delight to my childhood
RIP.
Rest in peace, Sir Clarke. You will be missed.
in a few years, perhaps longer, he will be reborn to lead the xenu empire on its glorious crusade.
sorry, couldn't resist.
I see a notice of passing of this or that "famous" person every day. But this one hurts...
Bon Voyage, Sir Arthur! Many of us will truly miss you...
Generally, bash is superior to python in those environments where python is not installed.
Unable to outlive Heywood Floyd.
To Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite.
Did all the military satellites just deorbit?
Arthur C Clarke was my Number One Science Fiction author. It is sad to see him come to an end.
Ruby Neural Evolution of Augmenting Topologies
AP/Washington Post
BBC
LA Times
Bloomberg
National Post
If the Government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law;
It's such a shame, isn't it, that they can't get things right in these articles, even when the slightest research would have shown the writer that the novel Space Odyssey was written as a novelization of the classic movie. The movie itself was based mostly on Clark's short story, The Sentinel. Furrfu!
Good, inexpensive web hosting
Clarke corresponded with C. S. Lewis in the 1940s and 1950s, and once met in an Oxford pub, the Eastgate, to discuss science fiction and space travel.
Oh to have been a fly on the walls of that pub.
...he's just hit just hitched a ride with the closest near light-speed ride to Alpha Centauri. He'll be back in 100 years at age 99!
RIP, sir
"Time is the fire in which we burn..."
RIPHe simply transformed into the Star Child!
"He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
/me looks around for gigantic monoliths taking Mr. Clarke up to heaven (aka - Clavius Base & Moons of Saturn).
Here is a video from ACC made in December 2007 in which he reflects upon his life and how he will be remembered.
His Kipling quote at the end should help bring closure to all his fans.
I hope wherever he's gone, it's full of stars.
At least Star Children get gorgeous views of Earth. RIP sir, your art shaped my youth.
Seems like he would be a prime candidate for ascension. I can't say I read his books, but the television series he hosted was very informative. His and shows like "Beyond 2000" have yet to be replaced.
"Thanks for all the money you paid to us. We've used it to buy off ISO among other things" -Microsoft
How about a moment of silence next time you use that cell phone that bounces a signal off the satellites that he envisioned? =)
"Life's short and hard, like a body building elf." -- The Bloodhound Gang
It was only a matter of time before some jackass puked forth this groundless accusation.
STFU. Try to have a little respect for a man whose shoelaces you are not fit to tie.
____
~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey
That's all.
...are and have been for a long time my Sci-Fi authors of choice. I'm very much into hard-science Sci-Fi, and both of these gentleman have provided the necessary food for thought.
I'm glad Sir Clarke had a long, fruitful and enjoyable life. Still, he and all the novells he couldn't write, will be missed. Rest in peace, and continue to be curious, wherever you are.
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
It's clear that, while he wasn't a pedophile, he had some kind of sexually unconventional lifestyle. The BBC make reference to this in their obituary.
My deepest condolences to his family, friends, and fans. He was one of the first writers I experienced that changed the way I thought and felt about the world in a drastic way.
I can still remember hollowness in my chest from "Childhood's End," the wonder and fear from the "Odysseys", and the rompy fun from "Rama."
Though we can all take some solace from the immortal parts of him that live on in all of his books and in us, his readers, I for one will surely miss him.
Thank you Sir Clarke and peace on your eternal rest.
When the only tool you have is a claw hammer every problem starts to look like the back of someone's skull.
His long lasting legacy is that he taught many computer sciences (and electrical engineers) how to dream.
many of those dreams became a relaity.
And we are still pursuing some of them.
--dmg
My 3 favorite, and the 3 who most influenced me are now gone... Asimov, Clarke, and Heinlein..
But their stories, intellect, and vision for the future will inspire generations more.
Corporatism != Free Market
All these worlds are yours except Europa.
Attempt no landing there.
The Rapture is NOT an exit strategy.
"Sexually unconventional lifestyle"?
First of all, please define what constitutes "conventional", and explain how Clarke deviated from this "norm".
Second, would a little respect for the deceased be too much to ask, Clarke's "sexually unconventional lifestyle" notwithstanding?
____
~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey
In terms of his factual writings, I have many of his articles that were written for Wireless World, including the letter and two follow-up articles on geostationary satellites. Those three in particular can be found on the web - many people have scanned them in. They're well worth reading. He was a highly skilled writer on technical stuff. Technical writers today should pay attention to them and learn.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
He's just been absorbed by the monolith.
Has anyone noticed that great legends of our culture seem to die in groups? Not long ago, Robert Jordan, the author of The Wheel of Time. More recently, Gary Gygax, and now Arthur C Clarke. I wonder how Terry Pratchett is feeling right now...
Admit it. You post strawman arguments as AC so you get modded Insightful for refuting them, rather than Troll
Once an artist with things to hide dies, it's customary to begin airing out what was hidden, without any disrespect to the man and his talents. Just look at the plethora of biographies of Messiaen showing just how much he tried to keep in the closet, for example. I expect the same to happen to Clarke. It's simple journalism and there's no desire to insult the man.
...I shed a tear - and then I felt...ashamed...why?
Why is it that when one cries at a movie involving war heroes or romance it is socially acceptable, but when I become choked-up not just about the passing of one of our greats - as I have today - but at the whole of scientific discovery I feel somehow, I'm not sure...I guess just ashamed.
This happens to me now and then. Like when I saw a documentary on mitochondrial eve, and I became full of such emotion about the interconnectedness of us all that I had to leave the room lest my wife see me weep (not that she would ridicule me, just because).
Why should I not be proud of my tears? Why, even in this day, surrounded by so much intellect and accepting cultures should I still not disclose this little secret to anyone except the pseudo-anonymous like-minds on this website?...
Why should we not all weep at the stars?
Read my Very Short "Stories"
so you're saying without doubt that he wasn't a pedophile?
My understanding was that he wrote sections of the book alongside the movie, making the script/book a joint effort, although the book was actually finished and polished later. Well, the only two people who know for certain are now working on a prequel (not available on Earth), from the Monolith's perspective.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
StarChild, are you now speeding amoung the stars
finding your great connexion
with the majesty that lies buried in mens' hearts
watching and waiting to see if those you left behind
will understand your message before it's too late
arthur c clarks should have been done in threes
a backup seer always ready
to disarm warmongering nukes from Mercury or even Imperial Earth
leading us across a bridge to the heavens and a rendezvous with destiny
counting the nine billion names of god as they are one and none
now we carbon based bipeds must confront childhood's end
with a memory in our hearts
of one who changed the world with intelligence, nobility and grace
rest in peace, arthur c clarke, you will be forgotten all too soon
but not for a little while yet
Goddamnit...
Actually yes, I do have some info on this...here and here.
Clarke was cleared of charges. The Daily Mirror issued a retraction. END. OF. STORY.
____
~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey
... he even died tomorrow!
The article states he died on wednesday, but it's still tuesday!
(I know, I know... it's due to the time zones...)
So say we all
I just have A Fall of Moondust on my night table (though I admit I'm not to get into it). Along with Asimov and K. Dick, he was THE classic sci-fi author; and he said inspiring things too, he was a bit of a wiseman. But I guess most people will remember him best for what Kubrick did with 2001. Great loss anyway, after Gygax, another icon goes.
However, your comments are based merely on rumour and are both irrelevant and insensitive at this particular juncture.
The only *facts* that exist and matter to me at the moment are that he was a talented author, highly scientifically minded, and the person who got me into science fiction when I read "Childhood's End" as my first sci-fi book and saw "2001" as my first sci-fi movie. Therefore he earnt my respect from a very early age and his family get my deepest sympathies now.
Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
The idiots at MSNBC used "Sci-fi" instead of "Science Ficton", as though Clarke were some cheap pulp writer.
Long Live Clarke!
Ruby Neural Evolution of Augmenting Topologies
First Gygax, then Clarke. Who will be geek number three?
Stallman had better keep an eye out for ninjas.
I encourage you to check here and here for what is 'hidden'.
Clarke was cleared of charges. The Daily Mirror issued a retraction. END. OF. STORY.
If you're not referring to Clarke's alleged pedophilia, however, but, rather, his "sexually unconventional lifestyle", you would need to first answer the question I put to you in my earlier post.
____
~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey
Thanks for clearing that up - and if the AC that raised that point ever makes his identity known rest assured I'll let you know so I can hold him down while you give him a good kicking...
Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
Look at the last words of the BBC story, as I already cited.
Clarke was certainly one of the masters of SF and popular space writing; also, he was my personal favorite.
His story "How I Lost a Billion Dollars in My Spare Time" about his failure to patent his geosynchronous communication satellite network concept is simultaneously sad and funny. He got everything right except he thought that the satellites needed to be crewed because of the requirements of changing burnt out vacuum tubes! Too bad the transistor was still ten years away at the time.
More than once in his writings he made the claim that he was proud to be an atheist. Somehow I hope that he wasn't disappointed being wrong and instead was pleasantly surprised.
:( ...that's all I have to say.
I think this best describes our technological society, both then and now:
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." --A.C.Clark
His books are what got me into reading sci-fi.
Truly one of the greatest Sci-Fi writers of all time.
Rest In Peace Arthur C. Clarke.
They got so much wrong, but the issues they got right. We don't have flying cars, but we are different people due to technology. We do not get our food from cubes, but the fast food is just presented manner meant to imitate the food it replaces. We had pocket calculators long before the cleaning work was autonomously taken over by machine, but the roomba exists. Children are being trained in ware fare using video games. The basis of our interactions are being changed by rapid instantaneous communication. Our basic functions, such as sex, have been changed by the picture phone and internet. No longer must anyone settle for the person next door, when one can surf for an attractive specimen in the morning, text during class, and set up the date for the evening at a bus stop midway between the two of you. In fact, we never have to settle when everything can be custom made to out specifications.
There are two things that disappoint me about many so-called intellectuals. The first is that they don't seem to read enough history. The second is that don't seem to read enough science fiction. To me this strikes me as a person who knows not where they came from, and who knows not where they are going. All they know is what is happening at the moment, their immediate desires, and all they care about is what they must do to fulfill those desires.
Clarke's writing clearly defines him as a different sort of person. The Foundation series clearly identifies him as a man who knew history. His life defines him as a man who knew where he as the rest of us were likely going. I wonder what the world would be like if our leaders were like this. People of history and vision, rather than people who apparently do not even both to hold a book correctly, and proudly states that they never read, or that they read the cliff notes versions. I am reminded of John F. Kennedy, the person who pushed the nation to space, for better or worse. It is claimed in Thirteen Days that JFK had read the Guns of August, did understand that many conflicts start because leaders assume they know what the other party is thinking, and then constructs inflexible plans based on those assumptions. As he knew history, he could do something different in his attempt to achieve a result. Again, history and vision of the future. Something we are sorely lacking, and something that is all too often ridiculed by those who are justing looking at how to swindle their first million by the time they are 25.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
My first exposure to Clarke wasn't fiction at all but a non-fiction, non-technical look at the future of space travel called "The Exploration of Space." My father must have acquired it in the early Fifties. It was completely understandable to a young reader, and the beautiful illustrations fired the imagination. I went hunting for it on my shelves just now and could not find it; I'm thinking one of my offsprigs must have made off with it just as I appropriated it from my dad when I left home. I was in grammar school when I first read it--didn't encounter his fiction until I was somewhat older. I treasure the memory of it because it wasn't about "IF" we achieve interplanetary travel but rather about "WHEN" we achieve it.
"Here's what's happening. You're starting to drive like your Dad..." - Red Green
If it weren't for that man, our collective appeal to the tech industry may not have been what it is. The dream of new possibilities and the hopes that they might fulfill were enough influence on me as a child to "stay with it". Not that daydreaming is key, but wow, just imagine what some of us might have done otherwise. Little bits of positive & visionary influence have always been enough to keep me going in a good direction:) I hope his family members find peace. Keep you dreams alive!
I intend to re-read some of his stories and watch 2001 in his honour over the next few days.
Damn it -- something must've gone wrong with that AE-35 unit...
Ruby Neural Evolution of Augmenting Topologies
and let me say one of Sir Arthur quotes:
"Life is just one big banana. Science fiction allows us all to peel open the reality and discover the yellow truth inside."
Farewell good man.
Slashdot ya no es que lo era!
Indeed. I remember an interview of his where he discussed his ideas around satellites. The amusing thing to him was in fact how wrong he had been. He had imagined them as (relatively) enourmous, crewed space stations. A limitation of the technology at the time he was envisaging them, where you only had unreliable vacuum tubes (or whatever they would have been) which needed constant replacing, and hence a human crew. Also a salutory lesson out there for all the people who like to predict what the future holds technology wise. It is just impossible to know what is going to come along out of the blue and knock your world view on its head.
I was thinking about trying to find a good copy of 2001 to watch today. It's sad that the man has passed, but hopefully some channel (PBS or Discovery Channel) will take the opportunity of airing his series from the 80's... Mysterious World and Strange Powers. I loved watching Mysterious World and (to a lesser extent) Strange Powers when I was growing up. Time to dust off some old books and remember.
shove his body into jupiter, and start the ignition of the star child
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Let us be reminded that Clarke also wrote about the Newspad back in 1964; it appeared a couple of times in the film 2001, It was tablet computer accessing a world wide web, thirty years before it finally came to life. The only difference was that Clarke thought the URLs were numeric instead of ASCII strings.
How cool it must have been for him to see so many of his visions turn into reality!
Strange thing, I was re-reading Rendezvous with Rama last night...
I don't know if "I'll miss you" is the right thing to say since I never knew him and he hadn't been writing for a while but after reading his novels and short you do come to realise he was a visionary. It is a sad day but we should reflect on his contribution to society and geeks worldwide.
RIP.
Since you felt it necessary to qualify the phrase "unconventional lifestyle" with the adverb "sexually", and since, according to you, that the issue is "clear", the burden is on you to a)clarify this nebulous statement, and b) subsequently provide some sort of evidence to support your claim.
____
~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey
...ranks as perhaps the best Sci-Fi book I've ever read. It still takes my breath away.
Tubal-Cain smokes the white owl.
You forgot to take your Paxil again today, didn't ya? ;)
(I once forgot my Paxil for a couple days, and cried at the end of The Goonies. Really... Made no sense.)
He was cleared of all charges. The Sunday Mirror issued a retraction of their accusation.
Looks pretty doubt-free to me.
____
~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey
No, and he wasn't a pederast either.
rj
One of the brightest has just been extinguished.
RIP
If you don't want to repeat the past, stop living in it.
"Overhead, and without any fuss, the stars were going out.
It may be a bit dated, but I like it. Found it on my iPod and fired it up in tribute to ACC. RIP, Sir Arthur...
Here I was, prepared to spend a few minutes making snarky comments on Slashdot and I learn one of the most influential people of my life is dead.
Being the callous jerk that I am, I will mask my pain with the following comment:
It looks like Clarke's childhood has ended.
"The fight for freedom has only just begun." - Geert Wilders
I am going to go to the nearest graveyard, find a big black tall grave stone and act like a monkey and throw a plastic bone up in the air and then quietly walk away.
Tsukasa: All I really want, is to be left alone...
Rest In Peace
I was hoping that this was just an extremely successful variant on the "Stephen King is dead" troll.
RIP. Truly a Sri Lankan icon.
Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
Clarke was an astrophysicist's sci-fi author. He liked to get his orbits right (amongst other things) and I believe he even blagged one of the early desktop programmable calculators from HP.
I would be fascinated to know what percentage of the engineers in NASA grew up on him? Heinlein was good, so was the original Star-Trek, but Clarke liked to get things right and I'm sure that inspired some engineers there.
See my journal, I write things there
Grow some balls and let her see you weep.
I think that there are two different kinds of emotions here; with a movie, you're being 'forced' to feel the way you do, so it doesn't seem to be a 'real' emotion although it feels the same.
In real life, if you will, these events cause really deep, pure emotions that are... well, difficult to handle at times.
If I mod you up, it doesn't necessarily mean I agree with what you've said, sorry.
... including myself. Arthur C. Clarke's books are largely responsible for where I am today. I read The Fountains of Paradise as a kid and now I'm 2 years from my Ph.D. focusing on nanotechnology and ultra-high strength lightweight materials. His mind will be missed but his vision and legacy will never be forgotten.
You where always a source of inspiration Mr Clarke. I will honor your memory.
/Arthur C. Clarke
--
"The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible. "
Look at the advancement of humankind because he didn't patent the idea of satelites
My two favorite authors of all time.
Little known fact: Sir Arthur invented the geosynchronous satellite.
One of the most brilliant men alive and one of the few who understand both science and people.
wow, i didn't know how influential this person was - i remember seeing that film and just being awestruck by it
... if music be fruit of love, play on
maybe they could put an ash or two on the next deep space probe.
Rest in peace.
I am very small, utmostly microscopic.
Did he take the secret of WHAT THE HELL DOES THE LAST HALF OF SPACE ODESSY 2001 MEAN to the grave with him?
It is impossible to understate the influence Clarke had on me growing up. He wrote realistic science in a fictional format that was accessible to a adolescent. 40 some year later, I continue to read his works and still am amazed at the quality and authenticity of his books. He was certainly a factor in my decision to become an engineer and to reinforce my love of all things sciencey. His book Imperial Earth, one of my favorites, introduced me to the pentomino puzzle which still continues to fascinate me. He is gone but his legacy will remain for a long, long time.
for me the big of 3 sci-fi were asimov, philip k dick and clark. Now the last of them is gone I feel greatly saddend. All of them have inspired me greatly.
Actually, no. The BBC makes no such reference.
Direct quote from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7304004.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2358011.stm
"Although cleared by an investigation, Sir Arthur's unconventional lifestyle continued to cause some raised eyebrows."
His BBC obit is at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2358011.stm
Same text. Yes, he had an unconventional lifestyle. That's not the same as stating that he had an unconventional _sexual_ lifestyle.
Nor would it be any of my business, unless he was doing something heinous enough for me to boycott his work. While molesting children of either sex would definitely qualify, the story (in a UK paper that's little, if any, better than a US supermarket tabloid) was bogus. They were then forced to print a retraction, as mentioned above.
See: http://www.mirror.co.uk/ and judge for yourself. Title of the home page is "Celebrity, Football, and Today's News Headlines." Of course, it might be less likely that anyone will hold their feet to the fire if they were to publish something more, now that he's gone. It wouldn't surprise me if a rag like the Mirror were to quote Sir Arthur's bisexual martian lover in tomorrow's edition, and be repeated by similar publications. The Mirror is probably quite popular amongst those who are limited to slowly puzzling out the words.
What you do with a computer does not constitute the whole of computing.
He was a friend, and we will miss him.
Support SETI@home
My favourite author is gone.
I guess I'll listen to something by Strauss now. Op.30, part 5 - "Das Grablied" - will be ok.
Sniff.
My condolences to everyone.
Je me souviens.
May your spirit rise up on the Fountains of Paradise. Thank you for all of the joy and inspiration your stories have given me.
Some mornings it's hardly worth chewing through the restraints to get out of bed.
Ahh... another of the few great Science Fiction (straight real Science Fiction no SciFi and things like that) leaves us. I have always been more of an Asimov fan, but as they both used to say, I will certainly miss the two, second-best science fiction writers in the world...
Too bad these they do not make Science Fiction writers as they used to...
Ubuntu is an African word meaning 'I can't configure Debian'
Be sure not to share any of his works that you find online, because copyright terms mean the stories cannot be freely distributed.
So please, please, don't search for The Nine Billion Names of God on Google and read one of his greatest short stories.* By not reading it for free, immediately, you are enriching yourself and protecting our way of life. Observe the reasonable limitations on the distribution of creative works that we have in place in the US, and enjoy sharing this story with your friends when it enters the public domain in 2062... ninety five fucking years after it was written.
* Really, don't. Don't to it. **
** You're going to do it, aren't you? I'm telling.
PS Yes, this gets my goat.
PPS Yes, I have written a book, pr8 it if you can find it, I don't care.
http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/public_domain/
:-(
I enjoyed his books - there may even be some I have not read yet. Upsetting to realise that there is no chance now of any new books. I met his brother Fred once who delighted in telling me about his elder sibling.
The copyright term is the same though.
Yes, you clearly know how british libel laws work. Idiot.
The light of the world is diminished this day. Know thee well that today we have lost a truly great man.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - Evelyn Beatrice Hall, re Voltaire
How cool it must have been for him to see so many of his visions turn into reality!
That reminds me a quote from Asimov (you know, the other second-best Science Fiction writer in the world). I think someone asked him why didn't he fly (by plane) to which he answered something along the lines of "why would like like to go in a cramped plane to get at 12,000m when I can go to other planets and universes in the comfort of my seat at home?
These guys were genious, and visionaries.
I won't get tired of writing Rest in Peace
Sir Arthur C. Clarke
Ubuntu is an African word meaning 'I can't configure Debian'
Arthur C. Clarke was one of the biggest inspirations of my life. It was his book Fountains of Paradise that inspired me to study engineering in University, which led me to where I am today.
I once wrote him to tell him that. He was kind enough to write back, saying he was thrilled to be an inspiration to the younger generations.
Farewell, ACC.
Life is like a web application. Sometime you need cookies just to get by.
I really think it should be Sir Arthur C. Clarke. While I am not very fond of those nobiliary titles, I think he is one of the few that really deserve to be named as such.
Ubuntu is an African word meaning 'I can't configure Debian'
How about Steve Ballmer? I wonder if he'll get his own article plus all this adulation when he passes on? People like Clarke and Gygax certainly do. RIP.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcYvv4PI-Ns (Blue Danube)
IBM doesn't play chess with the Universe.
Another great mind is gone forever. For a moment, humanity shines a little dimmer. Well, here's to the next great minds that are on the way.
My father took me the movie theater to watch Space Odyssey in 1976.
I was 10.
It changed the way I see time.
I have the DVD now but I don't watch it because
I think is too long.
I'm watching it now.
And hope time will care of the rest.
- these are not the droids you are looking for -
Coincidentally, just before I saw this, I had just watched this video.
There is no question the man is a visionary and definitely a formative influence in shaping our world with his ideas and I'm sure many people, who know of his ideas, probably feel the same. I'll enjoy reading other peoples views and information about Sir Clarke all I can say to you all right now is that I am deeply saddened by this news.
I often wondered if he felt a little disappointed with our efforts to get into space as pondering and slow. His description of the construction of a Space Elevator in 'Fountains of Paradise' (and use of in 3001: The Final Odyssey) is an example of the power this mans visions brings to ideas, visions that we can only hope one day will become a reality.
There is little doubt that world has just lost one of it's wisest seers.
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
Is the only writer from my youth who hasn't kicked the bucket yet. But he will. Soon.
Gads, I should write some science fiction.
My introduction to SF was sitting in the back seat watching 2001 at the drive in when I was in grade 3 (I was supposed to be asleep).
Even though Kubrick made it almost incomprehensible, (you have to read the book!) that led to a lifelong love of science fiction and a career in electronics engineering.
Good bye, and thanks for all the great stories!
Gord Wait
Bavarian Purity Law of Rice Krispie Squares: Rice Krispies, Marshmallows, Butter, Vanilla.
Not that it means anything if they didn't but I'm just interested to know their stance. I guess we'll find out when they print their obituary. Try this from the guardian in 2000
http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/sciencefiction/story/0,6000,374388,00.html Rupert and Arthur are good friends. The author of 2001: A Space Odyssey faced his trickiest moment three years ago, when he was turned over by the Sunday Mirror. It was Murdoch who wrote him a "very nice" note promising him that the reporters responsible would never work in Fleet Street again. "He is a rather shy, modest person," Clarke says teasingly. "I find him very deferential."
The Mirror claimed that Clarke had paid young boys for sex. It produced affidavits from the boys in question. Sri Lankan police later disproved them, he says. The story ran two weeks before Prince Charles flew to Sri Lanka to confer a knighthood on the grand old man of science fiction. The saga was the lowest point in his career. At a banquet in his honour Clarke, who has post polio syndrome, found himself hobbling away from the press, pursued by an unctuous reporter from the Daily Telegraph. The episode still upsets him. "I take an extremely dim view of people mucking about with boys," Clarke says. "The whole thing was distressing to me. It was vindictive and very unpleasant. I can only assume it was a plot to embarrass Prince Charles." The novelist finally got his gong this May, at a low-key ceremony at the British high commission in Colombo.
Clarke's private life remains a mystery. He was married briefly to an American, Marilyn Mayfield, now dead, whom he met while diving in Florida in the 50s. Asked whether he is gay, Clarke always gives the same puckish pro forma answer: "No, merely cheerful." The answer, presumably, lies in the "Clarkives" - a vast collection of his manuscripts and private writings, to be published 50 years after his death. A further quote
""I had an operation for prostate cancer 10 years ago," Clarke says. "I haven't the slightest interest in sex."
He deserves respect, not anonymous sniping , for his remarkable influence and contributions to humanity.
Rest in Peace Sir Arthur.
Blarney Quality Restaurant, Plants
i got choked up myself just now reading the last sentence of the article: "In an interview with The Associated Press, Clarke said he did not regret never having followed his novels into space, adding that he had arranged to have DNA from strands of his hair sent into orbit. 'One day, some super civilization may encounter this relic from the vanished species and I may exist in another time,' he told AP. Along with his DNA sample, Clarke enclosed a note with a brief handwritten wish addressed to that far-flung future: 'Fare well, my clone.'"
After seeing the astonishing acheivements of Clarke and his "movies" and now reading about how his fiction along with "Star Trek" has shaped what was/is and may verry well be our future..
Mr. Clarke. My best wishes to you and your family. I only wish I could have experienced more of yoru creativity, and greatness...
You will be Missed in all facets of the Science Realm no matter how far it reaches..
Gk.
Will he dream?
Will we keep dreaming?
Asimov and Clarke... I hope there will be more like them in my lifetime. Even if everything else fails with the future, we can at least say it looked fascinating and real when Clarke wrote about it.
^[:wq!
I know from his posts on Baen's bar that Eric Flint does contribute a lot to books that he co-writes with lesser known authors. Then again, he is shrewd enough to know he has a brand to protect, possibly for decades. I'm pretty sure that John Ringo does the same with the Posleen series.
-- Support a free market in the field of government
OJ was cleared of all charges too.
Back in 1997 I did a live internet streaming event with Arthur C. Clarke, it was the first of it's type, and literally sent video across a 12 hr time difference to Chicago, even then Clarke was making internet history and I was privileged to be part of it.
I actually got to travel to Sri Lanka and meet him. It was truly the experience of a life time. I had been following the foot steps of many other great people. Astronauts, writer, Hollywood types and scientists that have all traveled there to meet him. I had lunch at his home, got to play ping pong with him, it was one of the few physical activities he was still up to. He showed me original sketches of the Space elevator that he and Buckminster fuller had drawn. Even gave me a signed copy of one of his books.
Unfortunately I was so broke at the time all I could afford was one of those 10 Dollar disposable cameras and none of the photo's I took came out, maybe the X-ray machine zapped em. The grand old British hotel there the Galle Face Hotel built in 1864 was incredible but was killing my finances at $150 per night. http://www.gallefacehotel.com/
The video streaming even was at UIUC in celebration of Hal's birthday.
It was amazing to see the turn out. On the large theater screen he was larger then life and it really seems th e internet owes him a large debt of gratitude. For he has been an inspiration for so many.
Sri Lanka was Paradise. In spite of the Civil war, I have never been anywhere so majestic, the people were so hospitable, even strangers on the street were inviting me to there homes to have some food and drink with them. I must have walked every part of Colombo in the week I was there. The food was fantastic, the women were so beautiful, the ocean breeze and the sun sets. Oh the sun sets they put even the best ones in Santa Monica to shame. I still feel almost home sick for Sri Lanka even though I have only been there the one time.
I can completely understand why he moved there. I would if I could also.
Never making it back there is something that I deeply regret. Hearing this news really drove that home this afternoon. Meeting him has been one of the defining moments in my life.
Godspeed Arthur.
For Clarke is for us techies far more significant to us then Prices Dianna ever was.
It's nice to see that this slashdot page it turning into a memorial. I wonder if more formal memorial services would happen around the world.
http://www.dnull.com/~sokol/clarke.html This is from the streaming even and some video clips of him.
I actually think this may be the longest clip up on youtube, somehow they must have allowed it to slip through there size restrictions.
I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso
I will miss his insights. He was always my favorite science fiction author.
Let's remember him by his (last?) appearance on video 3 months ago on his birthday.
Beetle B.
... not read one of his books of failed to be impressed? I'm sure I've read most of his books, if not all (especially the ones he wrote on his own), but probably my favorite is "Fountains of Paradise" -- I can still remember so much of the story even though I last read it in the 1980s. Maybe not all of it, but who can forget the concept?! Okay, maybe he didn't think of this one himself, but if the space elevator ever becomes a reality, it'll probably be thanks to this book.
I'm going to miss him. He was one of those people who you've admired for so long that you hope they'll live forever. Of course, nobody ever does, so when people like Sir Arthur start to grow old and you hear that they're becoming weaker, you begin to dread the inevitable years in advance. A world without people like this is so much less interesting. Hell, I still hate the fact that Frank Zappa and Richard Feynman are no longer with us -- two of my other heros. Sir Arthur's passing is also going to take a very long time to get used to.
It's requiescat, if you want to say "[may he] rest in peace", i.e. the traditional RIP.
If you mean it as a command (as you phrased it), it would be requiesce.
Requiem is a noun. You could say something like Requiem ei donetur (Rest be granted unto him).
And of course, it's in, not im.
Interesting point, but no points to give out I'm afraid.
Nononono, no, no! 'E's resting!
I do agree "sexually" was implied by the article, and the whole comment was an unsubstantiated slur.
However, my check of the BBC article indicates they later edited the unfortunate sentence out, which is also QUITE unfortunate.
Compare the first hit from a Google of ["arthur c. clarke" "unconventional lifestyle continued to cause some raised eyebrows"]
with that article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7304004.stm
I don't see the word unconventional anywhere, or a notation that the article was edited.
In the Village
In the village in the village in the village
life repeats itself, life repeats itself.
There is sunlight;
there is darkness.
The dark repeats itself,
the light repeats itself;
planting repeats itself,
harvest repeats itself.
Yet life is never dull.
It pats the drum-hide of the night and is satisfied.
It listens for footfalls when the dogs bark
in the village in the village in the village
In the village in the village in the village
life repeats itself, life undoes itself
and then does itself up in the same guise.
We are careful not to fail to repeat
the same salutations, the same farewells
our parents and our parents' parents use.
They are wise; we are small and the day long.
Death comes but once but when it comes to life
no one would be unwilling to repeat
in the village in the village in the village
- Andrew Oerke
I've always been curious what people would say when I passed away--if anyone caed that much. It would be kind of nice if he was just checking and turned up again next week... But I doubt it.
I think he was a truly great man, and these days there's a serious shortage of those sorts.
(I read his "2061: Odyssey Three" in January as a reaction to hearing about his 90th birthday, though I hadn't heard about his good-bye video at that time. I read his book about the Titanic a couple of years earlier, and a total of about 15 of his books over the years.)
Freedom = (Meaningful - Coerced) Choice != (Speech | Beer^2), and sad sock puppets' bad mods avail them naught.
As I noted above, the sexually connotation of the comment was pretty clear. I suspect the *BBC* agreed b/c they deleted it. Weirdness.
http://mrcopilot.blogspot.com/2008/03/sir-arthur-c-clarke-dead-at-age-90.html
Out of all his predictions, I was really pulling for the monkey servants.
From the wikipedia:
OSGGFG - Open Source Gamers Guide to Free Games
Yes, the discourse between imaginative minds is an amazing and truly capturing phenomenon whatever the domain of discourse it may be. I would also have liked to be a fly on the wall in Max Born's office when he talked to Heisenberg, or to have listened to the tornados of mathematical rhetoric that went on betwen Feynman and Bohr when they talked over the phone to discuss the things that nobody else in the world could understand, or bear to hear. Maybe that wouldn't have been as entertaining as the distant worlds Clarke would have talked about, but it was still imagination, and imagination is such a darn beautiful thing. It is born of reflection, and reflection is what marks human kind, because it embodies the sentience/self-awareness/abstraction of concepts and physical symbols that makes us so "special". Actually, take away the quotes there. We are very lucky, and very special.
So it is no exaggeration to say that these are the people who have really lived. The least we can do, so that we ourselves can be said to have lived, is read what they wrote down.
RIP Mr. Clarke. Thank you for everything.
Clarke's works were what generally got me into science fiction that is worth reading as literature. Fare thee well, Mr. Clarke
Thanks Sir, and godspeed.
If you don't know what AltaVista is (was), get off my lawn.
Ok, it's clarke, granted, some emotions are expected. Still, maybe you aught to be more worried about whoever is feeding you estrogen supplements.
What about, "Romans, go home!"
"Drug him well. I don't feel like wrestling." Well, somebody had to say it.
Rest in peace, Arthur.
:(
You probably know all of the answers now, but the rest of us are sad that you're gone
If you've never read his short story book "Tales From the White Hart" it's a gas. His works will live on. Classics.
The Wired article links to this page of inventions presaged by him. I think Spaceguard belongs on that list, don't you?
Leben Sie jetzt die Fragen.
Your influence has had an effect on my life more than even you may be able to imagine!
For some random reason I was reading up on cryonics today and ran across a supportive quote from Clarke
"Although no one can quantify the probability of cryonics working, I estimate it is at least 90% -- and certainly nobody can say it is zero."
I didn't see any mention of cryonics in any coverage of his death so I assume he never followed through with it, but if he actually did maybe there's the hope that he's not gone forever and may be back again someday.
I stole this Sig
A true visionary and one of my favorite sci-fi writers. The world is a lesser place without Sir Arthur.
Yet, at least, he lived to finish that last novel. At least, he lived a full life. I hope that, wherever he is, he finds it wonderful. RIP Mr. Clarke
SARAVA!
I remember reading his collected short stories, one of them descriped an emergency spacewalk in hard vacuum, without suit... Chilling... He wás good.
He died in Sri Lanka, a good place to spend quality time. I'll miss him, like a lot of people will do.
All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.
...on your journey to Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite.
http://slark1.blogspot.com/2008/03/by-my-side.html
They say that the appalling sequels to Rendevous with Rama... were basically entirely Gentry Lee's doing... the sequels are so bad they can only tarnish the perception of the original...
I, for one, loved the entire series. Rendezvous With Rama is THE classic.
Rama II, Garden and Revealed are different, longer, sometimes ponderous, epic, yet fantastically imaginative. They are not Arthur C Clarke, but they are a cracking good read.
Ironically, I think that if they only had Gentry Lee's name on them (and still got out of the publishing house) then they would now have a greater acceptance. Perhaps the practice of putting a famous author's name on the cover backfires if the the famous author is too greatly worshiped.
Arthur Clarke has been behind numerous perceptions and ideas that are commonplace nowadays.
For example, he is the author of the widely quoted "Sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from magic".
As well, he was able to pretty accurately imagine an astounding number of technological advances.
A loosely re-translated quote from a Russian magazine "Esli"(If), regarding Clarke's 90th birthday:
"By the way, in the early works of Clarke there is an enormous amount of bold technical predictions, many of which have been realized - or they have every chance to be realized in near future. In the very same "Childhood's End", which is more of a religious-philosophic rather than futurological work, there is the determination of the baby's gender during pregnancy (very similar to nowaday DNA testing), contraception pills, document sending over phone lines with a device which is even named "facsimile device". Among the catalogue of technological predictions it is easy to miss a direct hit on social predictions -- Clarke assumes that socialism as a political order will be extinct by 22th century."
Go back and read your post. Do you realize the only actual reactions (as opposed to expected or imagined reactions) to your tears were your own?
Evil is the money of root.
Sir Clarke will no doubt be remembered by many as a futurist and inventor, or at least foreteller, of some important technological developments of the 20th century. While these are important contributions, I believe his lasting impact is much greater.
The essential genius of Clarke's work is the sense of wonder and mystery and human potential that permeates it. His writing captures perfectly the deep awe and curiosity and wonder I feel when I look into the night sky and grope feebly toward comprehension. Scientists and spiritualists alike are in truth motivated in the end by exactly the same thing: The deep mystery at the core of existence, that black hole in our limited understanding which we perceive but cannot see. Clarke's writing acknowledges the deep mysteries and their power over us, and does not aim to trivialize with ready explanations or tidy conclusions. Many often criticize the "confusing" endings of 2001 or Childhood's End or his other works, but they could be no other way.
And yet although Clarke sees us as fundamentally limited creatures incapable of full comprehension, his message is also relentlessly hopeful. The deep mystery of things is not something for us to worship or fear or ignore, but rather to seek out and face head-on with vigor and modesty and self-awareness. Not with intent to conquer, but with intent to appreciate and learn. This is the greatest hope for our future.
Sir Clarke was deep and true in his understanding. His work will be as relevant a millenium from now as it is today.
So were those Paedophilia accusations a few years back just slander or founded in fact? It appears to be the former, but why would try to tarnish his reputation like that?
Therefore, any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
Because you are too self-conscious? Damn what other people think and be true to yourself.
Ironically, the most recent (May 2008) issue of the Fortean Times features an item on Clarke's recent (on his 90th birthday, to be precise) reiteration of his ongoing skepticism of UFOlogy in general (his quote: "They (UFOs, per the existing 'evidence') are not spaceships") and the ensuing uproar on the UFO boards.
Additionally, the same issue of FT notes that Clarke's first contribution to tasty paranormaloid TV, Arthur C Clarke's Mysterious World (1980), has been reissued on DVD.
Safe journey, Arthur. You've been a great pleasure to share this sphere with. I can attribute much of my love of science to you. I'm in something of shock right now. I know he was getting on in years and the likelihood for his passing had increased substantially.. but not three days ago, when my roommates asked which well-known persona would join the likes of Gary Gygax to complete a trifecta, my offhand response was "Probably Arthur Clarke. Probably before June." So I feel a little.. sullied, as if I should lament my response. :(
He also proposed geostationary satellites in 1945 (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_satellite#Geostationary_orbits)
This post would have said he INVENTED the geostationary orbit.
But he was British - so he only 'popularized' it. We will soon find an unknown blacksmith from Nebraska who 'really' invented it in 1902.........
To quote the man himself:
"It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value."
If it did you may have outlived us all. Thanks for everything Arthur, rest easy.
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.
I'm so sorry I already posted in this thread... beautifully said.
MP3 Search Engine
What is a business process? I have never seen one on the flesh, so to speak.
And software? Lets not get started about that....
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
His works have inspired a lot of people, including me.
Farewell
Honestly....
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
... such titles are not recognized (I suppose that is the case in the US).
He would have been addressed just as Mr Clarke.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
Clarke shaped my adolescence as well; at the age of 13 it was a pleasure to find a book that was so engaging and kept me up at night turning pages. I still think about Clarke when I'm at the computer working on my own writing projects. I've got the latest word processors on four platforms and 'enjoy' things like auto correct and pagination and print preview, etc. but it hasn't made me much of a better writer, and never will.
But Clarke wrote his masterpieces a generation before me, using software like Wordstar, which predates even Word Perfect and has a lot less power and a lot fewer features than, basically, the text editor pico. He seems to have liked upgrading his systems as he went, which means he certainly wasn't using Wordstar to write his most recent works, but when you think of the power and elegance of his novels you realize the hardware and software made exactly zero difference: it was the mind. A little depressing for someone banging away on a brand new x86_64 with 2G of RAM, the latest software, integrated spell checking, and a whole lot more: it's not good enough.
So what comes out instead of a masterpiece is a short article for my website about the beauty of distraction-free writing: http://therandymon.com/content/view/89/98/
If this were Usenet, I'd killfile the lot of you.
Decades of young engineers and scientist learned to ask "what if" Now at last you can debate with Asimov and Heinlein, face to face, as to who influenced science the most.
I'm sorry, I'm to tired to be witty at the moment so this message will have to do.
He didn't "popularize" the idea of the geosynchronous communications satellite, he invented it, then refused to patent it because he saw the potential benefits it would have. And no, I have no sources for that, it's just what I remember reading...
a man just died for god's sake.
...for making the world a better place!
Arthur, you may be gone from this world, but you won't be forgotten!
Look, this thing is totally safe! Built it myself, you know. You just press that button like this and then turn that lev
Al Gore?
You are more than the sum of what you consume. Desire is not an occupation.
Thank you for all your hard work and imagination. And thank you for "The city and the stars", a book about breathtakingly distant future, but a book extremely convincing at the very least. Goodbye, Sir Arthur! You will be missed. :(
"Tom Clancy's Net Force" being the prime example.
Tom had nothing to do with this dog of a series, and you can tell.
It was purely a for-profit enterprise.
Chip H.
My favourites:
Yeah the short stories. He really had a way of twisting fate to give sometimes a bright and sometimes a very dark conclusion but often strongly ironic. The Star, Nine Billion Names of God, Superiority, and better ones which I just don't remember the name of ... grrr.
Also the non-fiction. If you are a geek you must read "Profiles of the Future" sometime, especially the chapter about 'failure of nerve' and 'failure of imagination'. Brilliant. Also his essays describing the early days of the space age and before, the start of the British Interplanetary Society ... trying to convince government about rockets in wartime London, and the realisation that the future had arrived with the distinctive sound one day of the 'arrival' of a V2.
Ahh. Yeah. Dammit well worth re-reading.
And sometimes he would hint cryptically that there may be things that we can't imagine. I wasn't sure what he was getting at until I discovered Olaf Stapledon who was a big influence on Clarke.
A life well spent. And thank you Arthur C. Clarke, and I think I will be revisiting these books that were so formative in my teens and twenties.
Bitter and proud of it.
A true visionary. Pick up his book "Greetings, Carbon-Based Bipeds!", a great collection of essays from 1934-1998.
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
His name used to be synonymous with decent geopolitical thrillers. These days it is synonymous with name whoring and cash-ins.
Although I haven't quite yet read all of his works, he was far and away my favorite writer. And I'm certain that won't change while I experience the joy of reading a few more of his stories and novels for the first time. The passing of those I never knew personally rarely saddens me. But, his quietus will be my prime exception. Farewell, Arthur. You will be sorely missed.
Open the Pearly Gates, HAL.
Still, I wished he was a bit better at predicting the future,... I wish we had donut-shaped space stations by now, and HAL 9000,... though I am kind of glad we won't have to deal with the Soviets in 2010,... :-)
Asimov, Heinlein, Herbert, and Hubbard all published lots after death.
Rendezvous with Rama and 2001 were a couple of my favorite classics. Unfortunately, I think this means that all of my favorite SF authors are dead now.
"The Light of Other Days" was one of his newer books (published in 2000). It is well worth checking out, especially since it is a commentary on privacy concerns in an information age. It is one of his best novels, I highly recommend it, even if you are not into his older works. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Light_of_Other_Days
Farewell, Arthur, and thanks for teaching us to dream about a better future.
I'm not tense. I'm just terribly, terribly, alert.
He also mentioned, in Fountains of Paradise about a news aggregation service that went out every day and searched the planet for stories that an individual may be interested in. I think his were, 'circle, squaring of the' & 'loch ness monster, discovery'. Not quite the same Google Alerts that I have (one is 'Arthur C Clarke' incidentally, but still good ones none the less.
Just because your paranoid doesn't really mean they aren't out to get you
http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=five_shitty_moviesTom Clancy can be plenty formulaic all by himself.
Try not to take me more seriously than I take myself.
I wish I could find a handy transcription to quote the conversation between Chandra and HAL, but in 2010, Clarke showed he did know how to write. I'll never forget the chill up my spine when Dave Bowman shows up to warn the crew that they have to leave, and on leaving, the dark spot appears on Jupiter... *shudder* (When 2010 shows up on the boob tube, I tune in just for the ending).
And the final dialog between Chandra and HAL actually talking with him and being honest. And HAL chosing the right thing. The redemption of HAL is one of my all-time favorite moments in SF.
That was awesome writing.
The bitter lessons of a veteran coder: http://bitterprogrammer.blogspot.com
So did another one. And another, and one more. Ooops, there goes someone else.
We better just stop doing anything.
So it goes. Oh, wait, wrong sci-fi author.
I once worked with someone who claimed that, as a lad, he lived on the same street as Clarke in Sri Lanka and was treated to an evening out with him and his telescope. He wasn't overly impressed. I was totally overwhelmed by the idea and _wished_ it could have been me. I had no reason to disbelieve this claim as the fellow didn't seem to know who Arthur C Clarke really was, just that he was a famous old guy.
I remember the first Clarke book I read. I was in the third or fourth grade when I got a hold of a green covered book called "Dolphin Island" back in the early to mid 1960s.
I'll miss Clarke, just as I miss Heinlein and Asimov. The original "Big Three" of science fiction is now gone.
Just a commentary here. Over and over I see people thinking that prophecy means forecasting the future.
It doesn't.
Prophecy is revelation of the mind/heart of God. And although a thing may be called correctly prophecy and not be (for example, from a false prophet), that is a whole different ball game from getting your definitions wrong.
For example, there is no such thing as scientific prophecy. That's a contradiction in terms. There is scientific forecasting. There is social prediction.
Yes, and this is slightly OT. But I get tired of seeing a term misused, and this is the second time I've seen an insightful-rated comment completely misuse the term.
Correct Horse Battery Staple: 72 bits of entropy. Enter "Correct H" into google. When it generates the phrase, that's
Arthur C. Clarke was a pedophile who moved to a third world country so he could have an inexhaustible supply of little boys. He will not be missed by except by moronic left-wingers.
...I shed a tear - and then I felt...ashamed...why? Because you're a fag.No, seriously, that's the internalized judgment you're working off of. Emotions are for women and girly men. Real men can't shed tears for that is a sign of weakness. Men can never be vulnerable, they must always be dominant, assertive. You are either kicking ass or taking it in the ass, only idiots imagine there can be such thing as cooperation and peaceful coexistence.
So, if you express any kind of emotional sensitivity, i.e. tearing up over an idea, you're a fag. Pretty fucked up, yes?
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
"There is always a last time for everything."
A friend of mine had shore leave in Galle some years ago and he and some fellow officers headed for a local hotel for some refreshments. After some time at a table an old man introduced himself as Arthur and joined them. The group had a long chat on the state of the world and wide-ranging topics of interest. My friend was impressed with Arthur's intelligence, understanding and genuine interest in others.
On returning to Australia it was only then that he saw a picture of Arthur C Clarke and realised that the "Arthur" he and his colleagues had met with was one and the same. He was of course kicking himself as he is a big fan of his books.
Slashdot: Where nerds gather to pool their ignorance
I know I'm woefully late in posting this. Perhaps some archeologist will find it.
"Any sufficiently advanced genius will be indistinguishable from Arthur C. Clarke"
More importantly, Thank you Sir Arthur.
-Stu
... set the targets for their daily dark-matter-free inter-cosmos travel systems. :)
*Their* engineers need a visionary teacher too.
He'll be fixing some screwed up attitudes up there and then entertaining the MoTU for a change
I knew ACC personally ... a great, gentle, and humble man. Rest in peace, old friend...
-- Ed Carp, N7EKG erc@pobox.com PGP KeyID: 0x0BD32C9B What I'm up to: http://intuitives.mine.nu