While we mourn the passing of our friend, let’s take time to remember the impact he had on us and others, (publicly or privately) and celebrate the achievements and successes of his life.
nick
ADDED- my plan at the moment- take a couple of days, let people comment and check in and share whatever they want, then resume ‘normal’ posts and comments.
Access and site loading have been a bit spotty. The site isn’t going away without notice, so DON’T PANIC. No idea why there are issues, but I think it’s a WP issue.
Whoever recommended the Wrinkle book to me, I can’t find the email. Great choice, thanks!
I have been following this site for over a decade. Always astounded at the breadth and depth of knowledge Robert and the commenters posted each week. He passed on much of his knowledge and passion for Science to those of us who read this site on a regular basis. We have lost an important voice for rationality.
Sadly, when he first went into hospital I knew he would never return. My wife has exhibited strange abilities from our marriage 46 years ago. She would warn me to slow down, a cop is around the next corner or walk to the telephone before it rang, saying that a friend is calling, and she was always right. When our first son was born, I caught her sobbing the next day, when I asked why, she said she knew he wouldn’t live to be 21. On that she was wrong, by 3 days. He was murdered just after his 21st birthday. When I told her that this prepper / scientist blogger I had been following went into hospital, she simply said “He will not recover”.
My condolences to Barbara and her friends and to all those who read this site. We have seen the end of an era.
When I woke this morning I was hoping that yesterday was a bad dream. Alas not.
My little ceremony last night had some interesting things happen. As I started to play Retreat 4 neighbors, all Veterans, came walking up the street. When I finished with Taps they wanted to know the occasion. I told them about my Friend Bob, and that even though he was not a Veteran he deserved a fine sendoff, they agreed. I poured them all a shot and we toasted friends present, past, and on eternal patrol. Then the sky started to weep and the last glimmer of light faded in the West.
Barbara, you and Bob will always be in my prayers as well as OFD who I am afraid is on eternal patrol, door guns blazing.
May the Peace be with you all.
I cannot express my feeling of sadness for the loss of a friend like Bob. Bob and i grew up across the street from one another in a small town of New Castle pa. Bob, his brother Bill and i were the three musketeers. Bob was a huge influence for me and his advice was always treasured. I flew down to N.C. once in 1980 to visit Bob and his brother Bill over the 4th of July weekend. We had great time and reminisced about all our adventures. That the last time i ever seen Bob in person. We kept touch over the years via email, and i followed his blog everyday as a way of keeping up with him. He was a very special part of my life that i will never forget. The memories of special times in life with special friends can never be matched. My deepest sympathy to his wife Barbara, and his brother Bill. Have a good trip Bob!
You friend,
Mark Turner.
From Barbara. The site will stay up. The domain just renewed. I am turning the site management over to you and whomever is helping. I think we were having network problems in Sparta this morning.
I am Winston until Wednesday thus no direct access to the site.
RBT has been like a virtual mentor to me since I found the site. I have learned a lot since I started reading his blog. He made me think. He made me realize it is possible to disagree with someone and respect them at the same time. He also made me realize that it is possible to disagree with someone about a topic and come to better understand it at the same time. Sadly, it seems I don’t understand how important my friends are until they are gone.
I feel like I owe RBT a debt for the things he has taught me. I remember when Jerry Pournelle told the story in his blog about his conversation with Robert Heinlein that such a debt is not paid back, it is paid forward. So now I’m sitting here wondering how I’m going to pay it forward.
“I am turning the site management over to you and whomever is helping. ”
Thank you Barbara, I know you must have a ton of other things on your mind. RickH and I can hold down the fort here. He can also help you with Homescientist.com of course….
nick
Barbara, I know you must have a ton of other things on your mind
I’m probably 3-4 miles from where Barbara and the family are receiving friends tomorrow. I was thinking of stopping by, if for no other reason than to, perhaps, be a visible representation of the online community. Anything I can do, say or take for anyone here?
My gratitude for all Bob’s done, and my condolences to his family and friends…..
n
re RBT’s prepping book, I’m certainly willing to edit it, if it’s mostly written and just needs to be cleaned up. That said, the one chapter I edited, on radios and other comms, was the cleanest text I’d ever been handed. The chapter had one clear typo, a couple sentences which I thought should be reworded for clarity, and that’s about it.
Sadly, when he first went into hospital I knew he would never return
I suspected as much when the time span in the hospital went past two weeks. I have had a couple of relatives that had significant heart surgeries and they were home within a week. I knew the prognosis was not good but did not want to be pessimistic.
I was thinking of stopping by, if for no other reason than to, perhaps, be a visible representation of the online community
I will be making the 5 hour journey tomorrow to pay my respects at the visiting of friends. Hope to be there about 2:00 and leave early. Seems like something I should do have been communicating and arguing with RBT for 20 years. My regret is not making the journey last fall when RBT was still alive.
re RBT’s prepping book, I’m certainly willing to edit it
That’s great Mr. SteveF. Hopefully the book can be forwarded to you in the future. If it is not complete, maybe others can contribute to finish it. It would be fantastic to get it on amazon for $1.99 with proceeds going to Barbara.
Today, I am missing Mr. OFD. I hope he is just seriously working on recovery. Perhaps someone could call/email him again.
regarding ofd, I included him in the emails to commenters, I think all 5 addresses. Only one bounced.
If he could respond, I’m sure news of Bob’s death would have brought him here.
n
Today, I am missing Mr. OFD
I am seriously concerned that Mr. OFD may never return. His illness may have incapacitated him or made using a computer exceptionally difficult. I have checked obituaries for his town of residence and find nothing so I suspect he is severely incapacitated.
If he could respond, I’m sure news of Bob’s death would have brought him here
And that may indeed be the issue. He may be in a facility with no access to a computer or is simply unable to respond. I fear the silence is not a good sign.
Such is the digital age. If I were to just disappear would anyone really know what happened?
I have also determined that it is imperative that someone else (my son in my case) have access to a repository of all my online accounts and passwords. The ability to change cable accounts, access bank accounts and other such items is very important. My son would be able to help my wife navigate the maze.
When my friend of 28 years died I had to help his wife get access to his online accounts, the cable company, financial files, etc. It was a difficult process made more arduous by the companies themselves.
When my mother died she had a balance of about $450.00 on Discover. I called Discover to have the card blocked. Discover would not do so unless I was the account owner. So I told Discover tough, not my problem. Discover asked who was going to pay. I told them no one. Discover said they would send my mother to collections to which I responded “works for me”. I also told Discover I was going to drop the card off in the sleaziest part of town as I did not care who used the card. Not my problem. Discover finally agreed to block the card.
Same deal with the cable company. I told them to come pick up her cable equipment. Cable company said they did not pick up equipment and I had to deliver to their office. I told them no, I did not have time. If they wanted their equipment they would have to come get it. The cable company said they would bill my mother for the equipment and if she did not pay they would send her to collections. Again my response was “works for me as I don’t care”.
Do these companies not understand that taking dead people to collections is just not going to work?
If it is going on Amazon with proceeds going to Barbara, may I suggest that it be priced at $2.99? If I remember Amazon’s pricing structure correctly, that would be the optimal amount per sale to Barbara.
I hope so as well.
I had no such problems with a Visa card issued by a bank when my mother passed away a few years ago. I called trying to figure out what the balance was and how the estate should pay it, and was told that the debt would be gone as soon as they got an official copy of the death certificate. I don’t know whether this was due to differences in state law or company policy.
Make sure someone you trust KNOWS your digital wishes, knows where the passwords are, and cares enough to do something.
One of the saddest related estate sale things I’ve found was a 3 ring binder with every account, every password, etc. that the guy had prepared for his heirs. I took it to the seller, who didn’t care, and told me the family didn’t care either. They hadn’t removed anything from the house. Bills, family photos, etc. were all there and for sale (or more likely going into the trash.)
nick
@SVJeff and @Ray,
Since you are going in person, I would greatly appreciate it if you could express my condolences in person to Barbara. Although I suspect everyone else who reads this blog feels the same way. Please let her know that many more of us wish we could be there.
Do these companies not understand that taking dead people to collections is just not going to work?
They take the shot in the hope that the harried executor of the estate simply cuts a check. Often, a charge below $500 will cruise in below the radar.
UT Southwestern in Dallas tried to extract a few grand from my father-in-law’s estate nearly five years after he died. My wife suggested that they go talk to one of their own employees — his nurse anesthesiologist, the beneficiary of his ~ $400k in life insurance plans.
Suddenly, the hospital stopped calling.
(Yes, it was legal. TX law drifts back and forth on that point, however.)
@Dave,
@SVJeff and @Ray: What Dave said.
Bob inspired me to build a basic lab, and create a program to introduce the local elementary kids to basic lab chemistry science projects. Sadly, by the time I had a lesson plan and the lab ready, my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. I mothballed everything to care for her.
Costs were high, I sold our home, everything went into storage for three years, until she passed away. I have since bought a new home, but I have not had the motivation to restart the plan. Now, seven years since that all started, my interests and energy have changed. I still have most of the resources and equipment. One never knows. It is good prep stuff to some extent.
I received bills for over a year after she passed. I have no love for medical insurance companies. I had a year to plan ahead before she died, as much as my mental state would allow at any rate. Things are good now, but certainly not what I imagined.
One humorous recollection: long ago my life insurance provider sent me a letter ending with, “We look forward to serving you.” Um, yeah.
I wonder if Bob preserved his DNA for that clone he was striving for?
I would greatly appreciate it if you could express my condolences in person to Barbara
Will do.
I gave RBT a worthy sendoff last night. Always end up playing Beethoven’s 7th for such an occasion. The third movement especially, which I call “The Dance of Life”.
Having reviewed and offered suggestions to BTPPC a couple times, Bob’s writing needs practically no editing, except to break up a paragraph here and there. I guess I’ll have to get his home science book because now I can’t pester him with questions anymore.. Awww 🙁
@nick — Will resend the Wrinkle book email. For those interested, it is from early 20th century and has a wealth of curious, obscure and useful tidbits from everything to making jam or killing RATS!
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=archibald%20williams&tn=wrinkle%20book&cm_sp=mbc-_-ats-_-all
And is available for free download from some german or austrian site. It’s a big scan….
His other books look like good fun too. I’ll have to keep my eyes open.
n
(his best and most modern method for killing rats involves infecting them with a virus that they can spread to other rats. virus is available at most shops.)
(scary what they thought the ordinary man and woman should be getting up to in 1905)
A funny story Bob and OFD might like.
My brother was a lifetime member of the NRA and as such, was entitled to a small life insurance policy. As his executor, I duly filed Notice of Death and promptly got a check.
For about a year afterward I kept getting letters addressed to him, imploring him to rejoin the NRA. I finally wrote them a letter explaining he’d died, they’d paid, so stop with the solicitations! Got a polite reply and that was the end of that.
@Nick
his “Other books”? ABE is experiencing technical difficulties, but I’d like to know how you came across his other stuff. _The Wrinkle Book_ is almost as fun as the 1969 version of the Whole Earth Catalog I have. An HP desktop calculator going for the low, low price of only $4,400.00
Nick, I received three emails. Please put me on the list at this address. In changing computers, browsers, and devices, I may have posted as other names, but they don’t show in the emails. The first name I used here was OldWindowsGuy, probably with the email of corkoak at the same domain as my current one. Hope that helps when you clean up records as the time comes.
Barbara and the whole gang, I haven’t posted here for several months, but do manage to read almost every day. I started reading this and Hardware Guys around the time I purchased the first edition of PC Hardware in a Nutshell, recommended by Jerry Pournelle. I also purchased some of the Building the Perfect PC books, but both editions (all?) of PCHIAN are still the best books on my shelf. You and Robert have produced some of the most approachable books on computing I have seen, but you are much more than that. As already said, Robert and everyone on this site are a special kind of family. As others have said, I will miss Robert’s wisdom and humor. May he rest in peace.
We had my MIL’s mail coming to our house as my wife was handling her finances and whatnot toward the end. After she passed (about a year ago) I just threw everything that came in her name away for about three months, then I started writing “Addressee unknown. Return to sender.” on it and putting it back in the mail box for several months. That took care of most everything except for a few persistent collectors that change it from being addressed in my MIL’s name to being addressed in my MIL’s name in care of my wife’s name. So, I wrote “Refused. Return to sender” on those and sent them back. Some of the charities soliciting her I wrote “Deceased. Remove from list.” on their payment coupons and mailed it to them using their postage paid envelope. That just leaves the incessant catalogs that come addressed to her or “current resident.” I’m hoping after an entire year (including a holiday season) without her ordering from them they’ll drop her name from their catalog list. We’ll see.
That would be great if someone (or several someones) pick up where he left off and completed it. I have a feeling, with the exception of a couple of chapters, that it’s mostly a collection of notes as it was an ambitious undertaking.
RE: OFD
Has anyone heard from him since 11/29?
@Chad, it was Dec 28:
Howdy!
Variation of Guillam-Barre Syndrome with 45-pound weight loss, weak arms, legs, and hands. Can’t walk or stand without help. Bowel issues, too.
Being treated but it’s gonna be a long haul. Currently at UVM Med Center Neurology and probably being shipped down to a VA hospital in MA or NH soon.
@jimB- found one with jimB and the corkoak addy. no oldwindowsguy.
If you want to email me and include the other addys where you got the note, I’ll scrub them from the list.
LOTS of Daves on the list and a fair number of Jims too.
nick
@jim~
He was very prolific. Google scanned a bunch, they are mostly in the style of “The Romance of Modern Engineering” and “The Romance of French Construction” and he did a bunch of variations on “How things work.” I’d actually seen one of them at a sale and passed it by without looking inside. I’d have grabbed it had I known. (distinctive cover caught my eye.)
There is no description of the Wrinkle book anywhere online that I could find. For the curious, from the intro:
“The Wrinkle Book ” is not a reference book in the ordinary sense; nor is it an encyclopedia saying something about everything; nor, with few exceptions, does it say everything about anything. It claims only to be a collection of wrinkles, or hints,recipes, and items of information and instruction, selected solely on their merits as being most generally useful to the average person interested in housework, cookery, mechanics, gardening, livestock, entertainments, sports, and so on.”
There is lots of interesting info there, including sample menus for winter and summer, how to cook on a wood or coal fired stove (including how to check the temp, and what temps are good for what kinds of foods. That alone is worth the price!) I’ve only gotten thru the first section, The House.
amazon has a bunch of books, and some kindle editions that are free, google books has some other scans. Just search for his name. archibald williams
I particularly am looking forward to “Things to Make” and “Things Worth Making”.
nick
“Aluminum, Blackening– To black bronze this metal, … immerse in hot solution of white arsenic, … hydrochloric acid, water… When sufficiently blackened, wash and laquer….”
Making a barometer involves mercury, “a strong solution of nitric acid”
yikes.
n
In response to a comment on yesterday’s page, where I believe condolences are most appropriate.
Bob’s mind is not silenced. Thanks to the work he has done and the people he has influenced, his mind will echo through the years. In 20 years, I’ll still think about Bob and what he built here.
I count Robert Bruce Thompson with Jerry Pournelle, Antonella Cupilari, Chuck Burchard, Ronald Reagan, and Robert Heinlein as great positive influences in my life. These are people who encouraged me to think. I cannot forget them and I think about them any time I need to ponder.
@Paul, I am really starting to empathize with you letting your dog pass on her ? own a couple of months back. I tried to get my dog up this morning at 10am and she would not get up. I had put her to bed at 1am and she also slept from about 5pm to 11pm. I went back at 11am and she would not get up then either. The wife went and got her leash and she got up for that.
I bought two more cases of Vienna Sausages from Sams Club yesterday. VS is the only thing that we can reliably get her to eat. Even though the vet said don’t, I figure anything is better than nothing. I have thrown out a lot of wet dog food in the last couple of months that she ignored all day in the game room. She also will always eat canned chicken or canned tuna. Like I said, I think that Vienna Sausages are Boost for dogs. Protein and fat along a few mystery ingredients.
@lynn
Long before “Autistic Spectrum Disorder” became the fad du jour, I had a vet who was quite clinically afflicted. I’m not one to rush off to the doctor’s office at the drop of a hat, but after a week or so I knew something was wrong with my beloved ferret, Ammu. She took one look at her, made very brief eye contact with me, and said, “infected canine”.
Spot on. Couple hours later she was out of surgery and home. Lived for years afterward.
What pissed me off most was her dying days. I’d had pets and ferrets before, and knew when the polite and proper thing to do was euthanasia, so when the time came I asked for a kit to put her down gently. The other vet, for reasons known to only God himself, sent me one. The dose was so low I ended up decapitating her after watching her try to die after a few hours.
If there’s a moral to thus story, it is either a sharp cleaver, a shotgun, or a decent vet. BTW, I asked for a refund of the twat’s fees after the ordeal, and she refused.
Getting ready to leave for Winston-Salem for visiting of friends. About a 5 hour drive. This will be a strange experience.
Drive safely Ray. Godspeed.
n
Nick, have you heard back from Chuck W? He seems to have vanished.
@miles, not yet. Isn’t he the one who vanished for a while but then turned up having moved to Indiana and replaced his laptop?
n
@lynn, we are fortunate to have a Vet who will make house calls for that final moment. That does come because we have a long term (more than 30 years) professional relationship with her (in this day I feel the need for the qualifier so somebody out there doesn’t think I have a “Vet with benefits”).
All Vets are different, but most are compassionate and understand that that final moment being at home puts far less stress on the pet and the family.
@Ray Thompson, prayers for your safety as you travel today. Thanks for being our representative, it will mean a lot to Barbara.
Chuck W was always in Indiana. Tinytown is also the town my Dad is from. He may have moved closer to Indianapolis.
Chuck and his wife lived in eastern Berlin for quite a while, where he helped Germans polish their English. After his wife passed he returned to Tiny Town, where last I heard he was trying to sell his parents’ place.
Vegas is large enough to have several 24hour “Pet Emergency Centers”. Our regular Vet has a relationship for one of those centers and pets seen at the ER have the records sent to our Vet. Our beloved female Chihuahua was dying from heart failure when we took her to the ER on of all days, Veterans Day. The doc said nothing could be done at that point, so we decided to euthanize her. The doc put in a port on her leg, brought her out so I could hold her while the drugs went in. She was gone in 30 seconds with no pain or suffering. If only Humans had that option.
Getting ready to leave for Winston-Salem for visiting of friends. About a 5 hour drive. This will be a strange experience.
@Ray, thanks for doing this for RBT. And us.
While we mourn the passing of our friend, let’s take time to remember the impact he had on us and others, (publicly or privately) and celebrate the achievements and successes of his life.
I disagreed a lot but found the community compelling and challenging in that it made me think. hence lurking for years. Bob was at the heart of that. still can’t believe what happened.
If there’s a moral to thus story, it is either a sharp cleaver, a shotgun, or a decent vet.
I am hoping that Lady passes in her sleep some night. Or when she is sleeping during the day. She had an apparent stroke about five years ago at age ten and recovered from that very well.
If only Humans had that option.
I go back and forth on human euthanasia. My father-in-law would be a good candidate as he has now been in a nursing home for four years. But, I would never force that on somebody who can make a conscious decision. FIL turns 86 late this year and, he told the wife nine years ago that he was going to die at age 86. The wife laughed back then, now she thinks he is going to outlast her.
I’m in favor of anything that reduces the human population. Some days I want it reduced to 0 or at least single digits, but most of the time I’d be satisfied with just getting rid of the useless eaters, the thieves, the bullies, and the other worst examples of the species.
(Note that “useless eater” doesn’t refer to someone’s state at end of life. If someone’s been working his whole life and has been producing more than he consumes, I have no problem with him retiring and using medical care as he ages. It’s the people who never have and likely never will produce that I want to get rid of. This includes most politicians just as much as it does welfare queens.)