RIP

[Dr Sardonicus]

Arthur Ashkin

Science has lost a giant in the field of optical research. Arthur Ashkin died earlier this week at age 98, leaving behind a 40-year legacy of innovation at Bell Labs.

Arthur is best known for his invention of optical tweezers, a method for isolating and grabbing individual particles using optical lasers, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2018.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Bob Gibson

Hall of Famer Bob Gibson, the dominating St. Louis Cardinals pitcher who won a record seven consecutive World Series starts and set a modern standard for excellence when he finished the 1968 season with a 1.12 ERA, died Friday. He was 84.

The Cardinals confirmed Gibson's death shortly after a 4-0 playoff loss to San Diego ended their season. He had long been ill with pancreatic cancer in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska.

Gibson's death came on the 52^nd anniversary of perhaps his most overpowering performance, when he struck out a World Series record 17 batters in Game 1 of the 1968 World Series against Detroit.

One of baseball's most uncompromising competitors, the two-time Cy Young Award winner spent his entire 17-year career with St. Louis and was named the World Series MVP in their 1964 and '67 championship seasons. The Cards came up just short in 1968, but Gibson was voted the National League's MVP and shut down opponents so well that baseball changed the rules for fear it would happen again.

I wasn't sure what rules changes this referred to, so I did some digging. From the Black Athletes Sports Network (BASN) Newsroom,

In 1968 MLB lowered the pitcher's mound from 15 inches to 10 inches and shrank the strike zone to the top of the knees to the armpit instead of the bottom of the shoulders to the knees. Trying to create more runs on the field.

Bullet Bob's 1.12 ERA also had a lot to do with the change. This was the best ERA in baseball history and it will never happen again.

[Batalov]

Eddie van Halen, guitar hero dies at 65

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by Batalov

Eddie van Halen, guitar hero dies at 65

I (vaguely) remember a segment on an NPR news program about the Van Halen brothers, ages ago.

It seems they always liked to play loud. I remember from that segment that one of the early bands was named "The Broken Cones."

[Jan S]

American singer Johnny Nash.

https://www.tmz.com/2020/10/06/johnn...e-clearly-now/

[Dr Sardonicus]

Whitey Ford

NEW YORK (AP) — During an era when the Yankees won the World Series so routinely it was joked that rooting for them was like rooting for General Motors, their ace pitcher owned the most fitting nickname: "The Chairman of the Board."

Whitey Ford, the street-smart New Yorker who had the best winning percentage of any pitcher in the 20th century and helped the Yankees become baseball's perennial champions in the 1950s and '60s, died Thursday night. He was 91.
<snip>
The World Series record book is crowded with Ford's accomplishments. His string of 33 consecutive scoreless innings from 1960-62 broke a record of 29 2-3 innings set by Babe Ruth.

That is not a misprint. Before being made an outfielder, Babe Ruth was pitcher, and a fine one. Babe Ruth's consecutive scoreless innings record had stood for 43 years.

[kladner]

Spencer Davis

https://www.theguardian.com/music/20...p-dies-aged-81

[xilman]

James Randi: Magician and sceptic dies aged 92

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54642107

[Uncwilly]

Originally Posted by xilman

James Randi: Magician and sceptic dies aged 92

I need better proof, like a statement from his shaman.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by Uncwilly

I need better proof, like a statement from his shaman.

Would a fraudster setting up a GoFundMe page for his funeral expenses do?

[LaurV]

Oh, that's a pity. Albeit he wasn't active for the last years, in the past I was kinda addicted to his JREF forums, and there I learned some of the "very best negotiation technics" I know... Those guys were amazing negotiating with crazy/deluded people. Drama of my life, haha... I still went there from time to time, even after "the prize" was retracted, to "cure" myself in "hard times".

Now my chances to win a million dollars are gone...

Rest in peace, maestro!