Erik had some pretty serious heart problems (possibly not unrelated to
his great weight) and I gathered from some clues I won't go into
detail about that he did not believe he had long to live. Apparently
he was right.

It crossed my mind that I hadn't seen a Facebook update from him in a
while and I went to his page directly to see that someone had posted
-- well over a month ago, on February 26th -- that he had died.
Another post noted that he was born in 1964, hence the date estimate
of the subject line. Erik's own last post was a moderately amusing
political dig at RFK, Jr., on February 15th.

For the curious, Erik's FB page is:

https://www.facebook.com/islandersa

He was a pretty cheerful guy and I gathered he would be pleasant
company. He was absolutely loathed by a few a.o. regulars (I don't
recall details) and the feeling was sometimes mutual. But it struck
me that if he was convinced of the truth of someone's position in an
argument, he would readily concede it, even to someone he clearly
hated.

After I moved to the Big City (where he lived all his life and, I
think, never really traveled far from), he and I exchanged a few
tentative ideas about meeting up but none ever came to anything.

RIP
--
_+_ From the catapult of |If anyone objects to any statement I make, I am
_|70|___:)=}- J.D. Baldwin |quite prepared not only to retract it, but also
\ / baldwin@panix.com|to deny under oath that I ever made it.-T. Lehrer
***~~~~----------------------------------------------------------------------

J.D. Baldwin <INVALID_SEE_SIG@example.com.invalid> wrote:
>
>
> Erik had some pretty serious heart problems (possibly not unrelated to
> his great weight) and I gathered from some clues I won't go into
> detail about that he did not believe he had long to live. Apparently
> he was right.

Again this distressing epidemic of those of us who
DISCUSS the dead becoming on-topic for such discussions.
Really interrupts the flow when voices fall silent like this.

(Has anyone heard from Dave Sill lately?)

> It crossed my mind that I hadn't seen a Facebook update from him in a
> while and I went to his page directly to see that someone had posted
> -- well over a month ago, on February 26th -- that he had died.
> Another post noted that he was born in 1964, hence the date estimate
> of the subject line. Erik's own last post was a moderately amusing
> political dig at RFK, Jr., on February 15th.
>
> For the curious, Erik's FB page is:
>
> https://www.facebook.com/islandersa
>
> He was a pretty cheerful guy and I gathered he would be pleasant
> company. He was absolutely loathed by a few a.o. regulars (I don't
> recall details) and the feeling was sometimes mutual. But it struck
> me that if he was convinced of the truth of someone's position in an
> argument, he would readily concede it, even to someone he clearly
> hated.

There was certainly much bitterness between us.

> After I moved to the Big City (where he lived all his life and, I
> think, never really traveled far from), he and I exchanged a few
> tentative ideas about meeting up but none ever came to anything.

I had thought you were in Texas?
> RIP

-=-=-
The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,
at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.

On Tue, 2 Apr 2024 02:56:53 -0000 (UTC),
INVALID_SEE_SIG@example.com.invalid (J.D. Baldwin) wrote:

>He was a pretty cheerful guy and I gathered he would be pleasant
>company. He was absolutely loathed by a few a.o. regulars (I don't
>recall details) and the feeling was sometimes mutual. But it struck
>me that if he was convinced of the truth of someone's position in an
>argument, he would readily concede it, even to someone he clearly
>hated.

I'm sorry to hear this. Thank you for letting us know.

He could be unpleasant and even mean, but he could also be friendly
and cool. He voiced his political opinions freely and didn't mind
picking fights, but at the same time, like J.D. said, he was
reasonable about it. Above all, he posted obituaries to the group, and
made factual additions to the obituaries posted by others. That alone
excuses a number of other sins.

Let us not forget that he rarely wrote more than one or two sentences
at a time. I remember another poster flaming someone here who will
remain nameless, "You're like Erik Lander, without his one virtue:
brevity."

>After I moved to the Big City (where he lived all his life and, I
>think, never really traveled far from), he and I exchanged a few
>tentative ideas about meeting up but none ever came to anything.

That's often the way it goes.

David Carson

In the previous article, Louis Epstein <le@main.lekno.ws> wrote,
quoting me:
> > After I moved to the Big City (where he lived all his life and, I
> > think, never really traveled far from), he and I exchanged a few
> > tentative ideas about meeting up but none ever came to anything.
>
> I had thought you were in Texas?

I live right next to NYC and moved here six years ago from SW
Michigan, where I lived for 20 years. Texas is one of the thirty- odd
states in which I have never actually lived. Funny that this error
should crop up just now, though, as I am flying to San Antonio on
Saturday, chasing the possibility of seeing the coming eclipse.
(Weather-wise, the venue selection may have been a mistake.)
--
_+_ From the catapult of |If anyone objects to any statement I make, I am
_|70|___:)=}- J.D. Baldwin |quite prepared not only to retract it, but also
\ / baldwin@panix.com|to deny under oath that I ever made it.-T. Lehrer
***~~~~----------------------------------------------------------------------

J.D. Baldwin <INVALID_SEE_SIG@example.com.invalid> wrote:
>
> In the previous article, Louis Epstein <le@main.lekno.ws> wrote,
> quoting me:
>> > After I moved to the Big City (where he lived all his life and, I
>> > think, never really traveled far from), he and I exchanged a few
>> > tentative ideas about meeting up but none ever came to anything.
>>
>> I had thought you were in Texas?
>
> I live right next to NYC and moved here six years ago from SW
> Michigan, where I lived for 20 years. Texas is one of the thirty- odd
> states in which I have never actually lived. Funny that this error
> should crop up just now, though, as I am flying to San Antonio on
> Saturday, chasing the possibility of seeing the coming eclipse.
> (Weather-wise, the venue selection may have been a mistake.)

A friend who visits me the great majority of weekends is missing
the upcoming weekend because he's going to see the eclipse near
Buffalo.

(For me,the March 7th 1970 eclipse is still THE solar eclipse.
We were closer to totality here than the coming eclipse offers).

I remain about an hour north of NYC,living on the same tax lot
since the year I was born.

-=-=-
The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,
at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.

On Tue, 02 Apr 2024 09:21:51 -0500, David Carson <davidc@wa-wd.com> wrote:

>He could be unpleasant and even mean,

When I wrote that, I had his treatment of Karen Anderson, who never did
anything to him, in mind. I was looking back into my archives just now and
was reminded that it was Erik who dragged Bill Cmelak out of nowhere into
Karen's troubles with John Gilmer. That started a feud that lasted, I
believe, two and a half years and spilled over into some 20 Usenet groups.
Karen died a while back, did she not? In 2009? If so, that makes all four
of them.

(I'm very sorry, Karen, if I made a mistake and you're alive. Not sorry
that you're alive, just that I made a mistake.)

David Carson
--
Dead or Alive Data Base
http://www.doadb.com