We all regret the loss of Blue Collar Scientist to cancer a short while ago. Now we have an account of his last few days — he died dignified and living well to the last moment, on a visit to Down and Westminster Abbey.
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I regret to report that Blue Collar Scientist has lost his struggle with cancer and that he died last night.
My hometown sits in the Southeastern Greene School district of Greene County, itself the very southwest corner of Pennsylvania. And therein, I believe, is born my perennial confusion of east and west. When I lived in Kansas, my hometown nevertheless often seemed to the west of me - because Greene…
One of Aard's regulars, Jeff the Blue Collar Astronomer, died yesterday. He was diagnosed out of the blue with spontaneous ("cryptogenic") liver cancer in early June. Jeff was 39. I learned the sad news from Wikipedia contributor Kwix this morning. Derek of Skepticality confirmed it on the JREF…
There are certain milestone moments in the history of any household that, while representing small triumphs, are also tinged with a bit of sadness. Baby's first steps. The first visit from the Tooth Fairy. High school graduation. Each represents a passage from a comfortable and familiar phase…
Sad to say that natural selection (of the cancer cells) gets the cancer victim.
If the IDiots had their way, we'd be stripped of that important knowledge.
RIP, Jeff.
Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/2kxyc7
The finality of it is somewhat overwhelming when you don't believe in a sky fairy. I only hope I can muster as much dignity as he apparently did in his final days.
Wow.
Thank you for posting the link.
Sad.
As I said over there:
I only knew him from what he wrote, and what he wrote revealed both a sharp mind and a good man. I can only hope I go out so well -- with courage and curiosity, not to mention cool shades and a strawberry shake.
This may sound awfully callous, or at least indicative of terrible priorities, but I can't help but worry about the writing he left behind. I pointed people to his blog entries on many occasions, and I'd hate to see the resources he invested so much time in creating slip away. (Would he let a little thing like death get in the way of education?)
We mourn as another skeptical voice
Quietly fades in the background noise.
But readers, take ye this message away
And, like him, wring EVERYTHING out of each day.
the hell with 'im. nothing's sacred.
Why is it Christians like you don't understand that "nothing is sacred" doesn't mean "nothing is worth caring about."
You will be missed, Blue Collar Scientist.
"You took all our hearts with your smile
and left a legacy untold.
You conquered life and fear, so you see
there was no room for you to grow old."
-S. Tankian
I was struck by this statement:
Christian? I meant what I said--no tongue-in-cheek here, boss.
I discovered Jeff's blog only a few months ago, and I'm devastated. It's just awful to lose a brilliant young person.
Jeff's attitude towards the comforting attributes of impersonality was exactly the same as mine. (A 41-year-old relative of mine died of cancer two years ago, and if I ever hear of anyone telling her daughter that "God needed your mother more than you did," I'll be glad to punch that person in the nose.) Jeff seemed like someone who got to do many of the things he wanted to do, and live his life on his own terms. His life was too short, but he made it count in ways that many of us could do well to emulate.