Archive for June, 2026

Obit watch: June 12, 2026.

Friday, June 12th, 2026

Dr. Alan Hale, the Hale in the Hale-Bopp comet.

I really like Dr. Hale’s telescope. If I had space and time…

(Thomas Bopp died in 2018.)

Jane Yolen, noted writer. I don’t have much I can link to (Lawrence tipped me off to this, based on a Facebook post) but Michael Swanwick posted a very nice tribute on his blog.

David Hockney, noted artist. He’s one of those people that even I had heard of, and I’m very much an outsider to the art scene.

Cleve Moler.

In the early 1970s, computing was at an impasse. Scientists knew that computing power and memory had the potential to be nearly limitless. At the same time, fields like engineering and biomedical research were running up against quantitative problems far too complex for humans to solve with pen and paper.
Computers could, in theory, help with those problems. But especially early on, working with them was extremely difficult, requiring a deep understanding of FORTRAN, the first high-level programming language, along with hours spent writing the necessary code.

…

In the 1970s, he played a central role in developing two libraries — essentially collections of prewritten code — within FORTRAN, called EISPACK and LINPACK, which provided a standardized set of shortcuts.

…

Starting in the late 1970s, he developed MATLAB, an interface that allowed students to engage directly with a computer, at first through a Teletype machine. His invention was akin to a super-calculator that was able to quickly process mountains of data without the need to program each calculation in advance and without going through the process of creating punch cards.

…

The advent of the personal computer gave every engineer access to a powerful computational device. MATLAB offered a relatively simple way of unlocking those computers’ full potential.
“I was lucky in that the things that I was personally interested in were useful to other people,” he told Scientific Computing World magazine. “I didn’t invent MATLAB to be used by a lot of other people. I put things into MATLAB that I found useful, and other people have also found them useful.”

There’s a fun little note in the obit involving a movie based on a minor SF TV series from the 1960s, but I am leaving that as an exercise for the reader.

Edited to add: And, since I posted this obit, the NYT has added a correction…related to a main character from that same minor SF TV series from the 1960s. I cannot make this stuff up. Seriously, go read the obit: the link I posted is a share link and should be free.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha Narendira Debyavat of Thailand. She was 47.

According to reports, she collapsed while training dogs for a competition in December of 2022, and had been in a coma since that time.

Posted in Art, Books, Geek, Science | No Comments »

Obit watch: June 11, 2026.

Thursday, June 11th, 2026

Lance Rentzel. He was 82.

Mr. Rentzel started out with the Vikings, but didn’t do that well, mostly due to injuries. He was traded to the Cowboys, and was a solid player. Quoting Wikipedia:

On May 2, 1967, Rentzel was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a third-round draft choice (#76-Mike McGill). Rentzel was converted into a flanker, where he became not only an immediate starter over Pete Gent but also one of the best wideouts in the NFL. Rentzel led the team in receptions with 58 for 996 yards (two yards less than Bob Hayes). If Rentzel had gotten four more yards and Hayes two more, it would have been the first time in NFL history that a team had two 1,000-yard wide receivers. In the tenth game of the season against the Washington Redskins, Rentzel had 13 receptions for 233 yards. His 13 receptions set a franchise record and stood for 40 years until it was broken by Jason Witten in 2007. The 233 yards were good enough for third on the team at the time (now sixth). Rentzel also starred in the 1967 NFL Championship, known since as the “Ice Bowl”, scoring a fourth-quarter, go-ahead touchdown later negated by the Green Bay Packers’ game-clinching drive.

He was on top of the world. He married Joey Heatherton in 1969. But he had a problem.

In 1966, he exposed himself to two young girls in St. Paul. That incident didn’t get a lot of attention, and he pled down to “disorderly conduct”. But in 1970, he exposed himself to a 10-year old girl in University Park, Texas. That got more attention: Ms. Heatherton divorced him, and he was traded to the LA Rams. He was less successful there, and was suspended at the start of the 1973 season after being convicted of possession of marijuana. (He was still on probation for the indecent exposure charge.)

He also wrote a book, When All the Laughter Died in Sorrow, which I have in a box somewhere but haven’t read.

“Doctor Who”.

The British broadcaster has canceled a Christmas special previously announced for later this year, and showrunner Russell T. Davies has confirmed his exit.

There were rumors a few weeks ago that the Christmas special was going to be cancelled, as the BBC and showrunners couldn’t find anybody who was willing to play “Doctor Who”.

Posted in NFL, Obits, Sports, TV | No Comments »

Obit watch: June 7, 2026.

Sunday, June 7th, 2026

Bob Packwood, former Senator from Oregon. WP (archived).

He resigned in 1995, before he could get thrown out, due to a sexual harassment scandal.

The case against Mr. Packwood, who had spent nearly half his life in the Senate, unfolded long before the #MeToo movement spurred society to take more seriously allegations of sexual misconduct against high-profile men. An inquiry by the bipartisan Senate Select Committee on Ethics dragged on for more than three years before the committee recommended unanimously that he be expelled.
That recommendation was based in part on Mr. Packwood’s diary, in which he detailed his predatory behavior, including toward women he supervised. “Twenty-two staff members I made love to,” he boasted, “and probably 75 others I’ve had a passionate relationship with.”

…

Shortly after his re-election to a fifth term, The Washington Post reported that he had made uninvited advances toward 10 women, many of whom were on his staff.
“Several said he was abrupt, grabbing them without warning, kissing them forcefully and persisting until they made clear that they were not interested or had pushed him away,” The Post reported.
Before the article was published, Mr. Packwood denied the allegations and refused to cooperate with The Post. Instead, he gave the newspaper embarrassing information about some of the women’s sexual histories to undermine their credibility.

…

But the Ethics Committee’s investigation continued.
As it expanded to include accusations of corruption, Mr. Packwood stonewalled it with legal challenges. In May 1995, though, the committee issued a damning bill of particulars, saying it had “substantial credible evidence” that Mr. Packwood had committed at least 18 sexual assaults between 1969 and 1990.
It also said that he had tampered with evidence by destroying parts of his diary, an incriminating document replete with scenes out of a bodice-ripper.
“If she didn’t want me to feather her nest, why did she come into the Xerox room?” he wrote at one point. “She knew I was copying stuff in there. I had my jacket off and my sleeves rolled up, revealing the well-defined musculature of my sinewy arms, which were always bulging with desire. I know what she wanted.”

Posted in History, Obits, Politics | No Comments »

Obit watch: June 5, 2026.

Friday, June 5th, 2026

James Handy, actor. Other credits include “Crossing Jordan” (the “Quincy” of the 2000s except it sucked), “Gideon’s Crossing”, and “Walker, Texas Ranger”.

Max Kleven. Man, he had one heck of a career. Stunt work on “Cotton Comes to Harlem” and “Come Back Charleston Blue”, second unit director on “Rollerball” and “Silver Streak”, and acting credits on “The F.B.I.”, a minor SF TV series from the 1960s…

…and he was a “Mannix” five-timer, too.

This just in: Anthony Head. Other credits include “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance”, “NYPD Blue”, and “Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place”.

Posted in 1970s, Mannix, Movies, Obits, TV | No Comments »

Obit watch: June 4, 2026.

Thursday, June 4th, 2026

Marjane Satrapi, author of the graphic novel “Persepolis”.

I haven’t read it, but “Persepolis” got a lot of praise from the usual suspects.

Peabo Bryson, musician.

Posted in Books, Music, Obits | No Comments »

Happy anniversary!

Thursday, June 4th, 2026

Today is the 52nd anniversary of Ten Cent Beer Night!

If you live in the area around Cleveland or Euclid, Collision Bend is hosting their fifth observance of the event.

I thought about doing a top ten list of my personal “greatest sporting events”, but I have trouble deciding between Ten Cent Beer Night and Disco Demolition Night for second place. (First place is, of course, the Heidi Bowl.)

Also, I have trouble coming up with a list of ten. I’d probably put this one on the list:

mostly for childhood nostalgia. I might add the final game of the Washington Senators in 1971. But then it gets tough.

Posted in History, Sports | No Comments »

Obit watch: June 3, 2026.

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2026

Col. Bruce Crandall (US Army – ret.), Medal of Honor recipient and big damn hero, passed away on May 31st. He was 93.

Major Bruce Crandall distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism as a Flight Commander in the Republic of Vietnam while serving with Company A, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). On 14 November 1965, his flight of sixteen helicopters was lifting troops for a search and destroy mission from Plei Me, Vietnam, to Landing Zone X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley. On the fourth troop lift, the enemy had Landing Zone X-Ray targeted. As Major Crandall and the first eight helicopters landed to discharge troops on his fifth troop lift, his unarmed helicopter came under such intense enemy fire that the ground commander ordered the second flight of eight aircraft to abort their mission. As Major Crandall flew back to Plei Me, his base of operations, he determined that the ground commander of the besieged infantry battalion desperately needed more ammunition. Major Crandall then decided to adjust his base of operations to Artillery Firebase Falcon in order to shorten the flight distance to deliver ammunition and evacuate wounded soldiers. While medical evacuation was not his mission, he immediately sought volunteers and with complete disregard for his own personal safety, led the two aircraft to Landing Zone X-Ray. Despite the fact that the landing zone was still under relentless enemy fire, Major Crandall landed and proceeded to supervise the loading of seriously wounded soldiers aboard the aircraft. Major Crandall’s voluntary decision to land under the most extreme fire instilled in the other pilots the will and spirit to continue to land their own aircraft, and in the ground forces the realization that they would be resupplied and that friendly wounded would be promptly evacuated. This greatly enhanced morale and the will to fight at a critical time. After his first medical evacuation, Major Crandall continued to fly into and out of the landing zone throughout the day and into the evening. That day he completed a total of 22 flights, most under intense enemy fire, retiring from the battlefield only after all possible service had been rendered to the Infantry battalion. His actions provided critical resupply of ammunition and evacuation of the wounded. Major Crandall’s daring acts of bravery and courage in the face of an overwhelming and determined enemy are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.

On Nov. 14, 1965, Major Crandall was piloting one of several unarmed helicopters ferrying soldiers to a remote part of Ia Drang Valley in South Vietnam for a search-and-destroy mission. On their fifth trip, they came under attack by enemy mortars, rockets and automatic weapons.
The ground commander ordered the helicopters to abort the mission and return to their command post. According to military records, Major Crandall decided without formal orders to organize a mission to return to the combat site after learning that medevac assistance had been suspended.
“The medevac pilots were all great pilots,” he later said. “But they weren’t allowed to land on a landing zone until it was ‘green’ for a period of five minutes” — meaning safe from incoming fire.
In subsequent landings, he and his wingman, Major Ed Freeman, delivered ammunition to soldiers trapped there and evacuated the wounded. They were credited with saving the lives of about 70 injured soldiers.

…

In the wake of the battle, Major Freeman received the Distinguished Flying Cross, and Major Crandall received the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army’s second-highest award for valor. A group of veterans who had fought alongside both men later called for them to receive the Medal of Honor, the military’s highest decoration.
In White House ceremonies, President George W. Bush presented the medal to Major Freeman in 2001 and Colonel Crandall (his final rank) in 2007.
“Fourteen times he flew into what they called the valley of death,” Mr. Bush said of Colonel Crandall. “He made those flights knowing that he faced what was later described as an almost unbelievably extreme risk to his life. In the course of the day, Major Crandell had three different choppers. Two were damaged so badly they could not stay in the air. Yet he kept flying until every wounded man had been evacuated.”

Press release from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. According to them, there are 63 living Medal of Honor recipients.

His military decorations include the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, 24 Air Medals, the Vietnam Service Medal, and numerous other awards and commendations.

Posted in Heroism, History, Obits | No Comments »