I didn’t put up a post last night about Steve Jobs‘ death, because I was in two minds whether or not to do so. You see, I wanted to be honest about him, but at the same time, there’s the old saying: De mortuis nil nisi bonum. However, the uncritical, almost adoring paeans of praise… Continue reading In memoriam: Steve Jobs
Tag: In Memoriam
Is this really such a good idea?
I’m somewhat nonplussed to read that during the funeral of the recently-deceased inventor of Doritos, his product is to be sprinkled over his grave. With the greatest of respect to the late Mr. Arch West, is this really a good idea? I mean . . . won’t it seem corny? Peter
In Memoriam: Keith Tantlinger
You’ve probably never heard of Keith Tantlinger, but he undoubtedly touched your life in many ways. The Telegraph reports: Keith Tantlinger, who died on August 27 aged 92, developed the technology that launched containerised shipping – in the process redrawing the global economic map by transforming the way cargo is moved internationally. The story of… Continue reading In Memoriam: Keith Tantlinger
The man who brought e-books to life
I was sorry to read of the death of Michael Hart. He was a – no, the seminal figure in the world of e-books. The Telegraph reports: Michael Hart, who died on September 6 aged 64, was the father of Project Gutenberg, a seemingly quixotic scheme to copy the texts of tens of thousands of… Continue reading The man who brought e-books to life
In Memoriam: 9/11/2001
Let us remember, with solemnity and honor, those who died on 9/11/2001, and all those who have fallen in the War on Terror since that time. I can think of no better piece of music to commemorate them than Allegri’s Miserere (Psalm 51). For those who’d like to know more about it, I wrote about… Continue reading In Memoriam: 9/11/2001
September 11th, 2001 – ten years later
I’m frankly sickened by the maudlin, saccharine stupidity of so many of the written and spoken remembrances of the tenth anniversary of 9/11. This isn’t the time for sloppy sentimentality. Ten years ago, the Twin Towers fell. Ten years ago, the Pentagon burned. Ten years ago, the heroes of United Airlines Flight 93 fell from… Continue reading September 11th, 2001 – ten years later
There are very few of The Few left now . . .
. . . and one of them left us the poorer for his departure a few days ago. The Telegraph reports: Group Captain Billy Drake, who died on August 28 aged 93, was one of the leading Allied “aces” of the Second World War. Five days after the outbreak of war, Drake and his colleagues… Continue reading There are very few of The Few left now . . .
Dumpster diving – by plane???
An aircraft accident in Buttonwillow, California had an unusual twist. The National Transportation Safety Board report states: On June 13, 2011, about 1825 pacific daylight time, a Grumman G-164A, N5286 sustained substantial damage when it departed the runway and collided with two dumpsters at a private airstrip in Buttonwillow, California. . . . The pilot… Continue reading Dumpster diving – by plane???
Some jokes just write themselves . . .
Remember Rachel Corrie, the American ‘peace activist’ who was killed when she sat down in front of an Israeli bulldozer in the Gaza Strip? She’s become an icon, to the Left for her opposition to Israel, to the Right as an example of everything that’s wrong with the Loony Left! It seems she’s to be… Continue reading Some jokes just write themselves . . .
Hiroshima marks a grim anniversary
66 years ago today, the first atomic bomb used in anger was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. At least 70,000 people died instantly, with tens of thousands of others dying months or years later of the after-effects of radiation poisoning. Today more than 200,000 were remembered as victims of the bomb. The Hiroshima… Continue reading Hiroshima marks a grim anniversary