Deaths of Famous People (2018)

[dcpatti]

Stephen Hawking has died at the age of 76. Few details released yet. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-43396008?ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbc_breaking&ns_source=twitter&ns_linkname=news_central

[imref]

Stephen Hawking has died at the age of 76. Few details released yet. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-43396008?ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbc_breaking&ns_source=twitter&ns_linkname=news_central

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

It really is amazing that he made it that long.  Mind over matter.

[dcpatti]

Hawking died on Pi Day.

[Natsinpwc]

Hawking died on Pi Day.

Son got me his book A Beief History of Time for my birthday. Still trying to make my way through it. It's hard for me to have to think when I read. I suppose that's why I like WNFF.

[imref]

Son got me his book A Beief History of Time for my birthday. Still trying to make my way through it. It's hard for me to have to think when I read. I suppose that's why I like WNFF.

I've read it twice, and still don't understand most of it.

Once you are done watch Interstellar if you haven't already.

[Natsinpwc]

I've read it twice, and still don't understand most of it.

Once you are done watch Interstellar if you haven't already.

I've seen Interstellar. Didn't understand that either!

[dracnal]

I've seen Interstellar. Didn't understand that either!

My chief complaint with Interstellar was that while the science in it was generally consistent with how we understand things, getting time dilation to that level would have required such insane gravitational forces that they would have been ripped apart.

[imref]

My chief complaint with Interstellar was that while the science in it was generally consistent with how we understand things, getting time dilation to that level would have required such insane gravitational forces that they would have been ripped apart.

yeah, there's always going to be some creative liberty, but I enjoyed the fact that they largely were scientifically realistic.  Five years or so after the movie's release, there is still much on-line discussion of the science of the film, and the questions related to the paradoxes raised by future human beings saving present human beings.  I've watched it about 15 times and still pick up something new each time.

[Natsinpwc]

My chief complaint with Interstellar was that while the science in it was generally consistent with how we understand things, getting time dilation to that level would have required such insane gravitational forces that they would have been ripped apart.

Huh?

[dracnal]

Huh?

Basically, the stronger the gravity, the slower time passes. For the number of years to have passed while they were on the planet compared to the ship in orbit, would have required enough gravity to turn them into chunky salsa.

[bluestreak]

My chief complaint with Interstellar was that while the science in it was generally consistent with how we understand things, getting time dilation to that level would have required such insane gravitational forces that they would have been ripped apart.

Let's be honest, what percentage of people watching this film understands general relativity? 0.001%? less?

[dracnal]

Let's be honest, what percentage of people watching this film understands general relativity? 0.001%? less?

Fair point. But for whatever reason folks who didn't were blown away that the film was based on real science, theoretically possible, etc. Nitpicking aside, I loved the method they used to visually express time as a dimension that could be moved around in as easily as up, down, front, back, etc. - The idea of moving in time, not space, and keeping a relation to a fixed point was done really well.  But I am guessing it also may have been a touch confusing for folks who

Ignore all but the first sentence. Getting too wonky for this thread. It's sad that we lost Hawking's mind, but I hope he is at peace. By all accounts he had a difficult and complex personal life.

[HalfSmokes]

Personally I find it amazing that he was able to contribute and communicate for virtually his whole life despite being almost wholly paralyzed. Also the illustrated book isn’t too hardcore to get through, those illustrations better explain the concepts than any physics professor I ever had (to be fair I only ever had two, so not a large number)

[Slateman]

[tomterp]

Ignore all but the first sentence. Getting too wonky for this thread. It's sad that we lost Hawking's mind, but I hope he is at peace. By all accounts he had a difficult and complex personal life.

He would seem well equipped to be able to handle complexity.

[imref]

He would seem well equipped to be able to handle complexity.

I highly recommend the Theory of Everything if you haven’t seen it.   

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2980516/

[tomterp]

Lefty Kreh, at 93.  Anyone who has ever fly fished could appreciate what Lefty brought to the art, or sport, depending on your perspective.  I saw him perform a casting demonstration at the Timonium fairgrounds in the 1970's.  He had a packed house; they cleared a lane in the crowd maybe 8 feet wide in front and in back and 100 feet in both directions, and in just a couple of false casts he had the entire 90' line off the reel and was whipping it back and forth inches from the spectators' noses.  If I can get 65' out the whole thing collapses from the relative incompetence.   I've heard he could clip the end of a cigar off at 90+ feet but that day he didn't try the feat.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/14/obituaries/lefty-kreh-a-fly-fisherman-with-few-peers-is-dead-at-93.html

Lefty Kreh, one of the pre-eminent sport fishermen of his time, died on Wednesday at his home in Cockeysville, Md., north of Baltimore. He was 93.

His granddaughter Sammantha Aus said the cause was congestive heart failure.

For a half century, Mr. Kreh, a globe-trotting fisherman, journalist and author, was a colorful and highly influential figure in both freshwater and saltwater fly-fishing. In countless articles and more than 30 books, in videos, on television and at innumerable public appearances, he converted his vast experience into lucid observations and practical advice for anglers at all levels.

Mr. Kreh was always willing to re-examine traditional ideas in a sport laden with them. As he said about fly-fishing for trout in his book “Advanced Fly Fishing Techniques” (1994): “I feel that many people who are not really versed in the sport have either written or spoken about it, and they have attempted to create a concept that this is a very difficult sport to master. That simply isn’t true.”

While fly angling in fresh water for fish like trout and salmon is an old sport, saltwater fly-fishing is comparatively new, and Mr. Kreh was one of its earliest champions. His book “Fly Fishing in Salt Water,” which he said he wrote “not to make money, but so I didn’t have to answer so many darn questions,” was published in 1974 and remains an essential text.

A saltwater fly of Mr. Kreh’s design, Lefty’s Deceiver, is used all over the world, and in 1991 the Postal Service put it on a stamp.

Mr. Kreh was much in demand as an instructor of fly casting, the easily misperformed skill of unfurling a heavy fishing line to deliver a virtually weightless lure to wary fish. He gave demonstrations to thousands of anglers at his public appearances. Though born left-handed, he could cast with either hand and customarily used his right, which he said was better for teaching right-handed students.

[bluestreak]

Lefty Kreh, at 93.  Anyone who has ever fly fished could appreciate what Lefty brought to the art, or sport, depending on your perspective.  I saw him perform a casting demonstration at the Timonium fairgrounds in the 1970's.  He had a packed house; they cleared a lane in the crowd maybe 8 feet wide in front and in back and 100 feet in both directions, and in just a couple of false casts he had the entire 90' line off the reel and was whipping it back and forth inches from the spectators' noses.  If I can get 65' out the whole thing collapses from the relative incompetence.   I've heard he could clip the end of a cigar off at 90+ feet but that day he didn't try the feat.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/14/obituaries/lefty-kreh-a-fly-fisherman-with-few-peers-is-dead-at-93.html

Agreed

[dcpatti]

Charlie Quintana, former drummer for punk band Social Distortion, has died in Mexico at the age of 56. No cause of death has been released but an article in the LA Times calls it “mysterious” before shoving 672 popup ads in your face. Quintana also played with Agent Orange,  Cracker, Izzy Stradlin (in the pre-GnR days) and The Plugz, and filled in occasionally for DJ Bonebrake of X. He moved to Mexico a few years ago to care for stray dogs.

https://www.altpress.com/news/entry/charlie_quintana_social_distortion_drummer_dies

[skippy1999]

Charlie Quintana, former drummer for punk band Social Distortion, has died in Mexico at the age of 56. No cause of death has been released but an article in the LA Times calls it “mysterious” before shoving 672 popup ads in your face. Quintana also played with Agent Orange,  Cracker, Izzy Stradlin (in the pre-GnR days) and The Plugz, and filled in occasionally for DJ Bonebrake of X. He moved to Mexico a few years ago to care for stray dogs.

https://www.altpress.com/news/entry/charlie_quintana_social_distortion_drummer_dies

He was actually with Izzy in post-GNR days, he was part of Izzy’s JuJu Hounds. Sad to read this

[Natsinpwc]

Bozo the Clown.

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/tv-personality-playing-bozo-clown-dies-89-53924475

[mitlen]

Bozo the Clown.

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/tv-personality-playing-bozo-clown-dies-89-53924475

I'll miss his posts.   

[skippy1999]

I'll miss his posts.   

 

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Bozo the Clown.

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/tv-personality-playing-bozo-clown-dies-89-53924475

I used to take skating lessons with his kid growing up.  I was about 9 or so, so "Bozo" would have been in his late 30s.