Colin Douthwaite logs off
Bruce Hamilton
Ian Douthwaite, daring just once to use his Dad's account
without his permission wrote:
>As some of you may have heard, Colin Douthwaite, my father, died
>suddenly but peacefully on 1 March 1999.
Ian,
Thank you for posting that, and my sincere condolences to you
and all your family. Colin also participated in other groups,
and below is a post I made earlier today ( before I saw your
message ) to sci.chem - where Colin once was much more active
than he was recently, but who still lurked until last year,
at least, and whose efforts to keep our group informal and
diverse were greatly appreciated.
Bruce Hamilton
Subject : Colin Douthwaite R.I.P.
According to an announcement on a NZ Usenet group, Colin Douthwaite
died on the first of March. He had previously had heart problems, and
wasn't a spring chicken, but I haven't seen details of his death - yet.
The reason that this group is still called sci.chem, not sci.chem.misc
is due in large part to Colin's perpetual battles with the new.groups
fascists attempts to impose *.*.misc where ever they could replace
*.* - usually as part of any new subgroup creation process.
Colin fought the creeping miscism as hard and as diligently as he
could, and was heroic in his defence of sci.chem. I recall his struggles
inspired many of us to repel their last assault on this group's name
- even though they dragged all their dark forces from the new.groups
lairs - people who had never posted on chemistry to sci.chem.
Colin was a long time contributer to sci.chem. Early on, his humorous
ascii art, and recipes for making fun things like huge bubbles using
simple home chemicals, provided a levity and playfulness that sadly
seems to have disappeared from the group. I doubt DejaNews has
captured many, as he was most active in the early years of the group,
especially with helpful ideas to amuse and educate.
For the last few years, he mainly lurked, occasionally popping
up to either belligerently defend the sci.chem name and diversity,
or subtly prick some pomposity, and often responded only in email.
He will be sorely missed by those of us who remember the sci.chem
naming wars, and the joy of ascii art. He always ended with
" Bye, "
and I'm sure I'll see some great ascii art appear on the sky
canvas above, with that immortal signature below.
God speed, Colin, thanks for all your efforts, without which there
would be no sci.chem today.
Bruce Hamilton
Brian Harmer
Bruce Hamilton wrote in message
<36df92bd....@Newshost.comnet.co.nz>...
>
>Ian Douthwaite, daring just once to use his Dad's account
>without his permission wrote:
>
>>As some of you may have heard, Colin Douthwaite, my father, died
>>suddenly but peacefully on 1 March 1999.
>
>Ian,
There is something eerie about the loss of a cyber-acquaintance - a
sense of unfinished business. How could you go before we ever met,
face to face? I did a quick scan of Dejanews and note that Colin was
still posting as recently as 26 February, in his usual feisty manner
on the CFV for Canterbury, and before that, crossing swords with me
over the Crump documentary.
I am sorry for your loss, Ian. He was a fun adversary.
--
Brian M Harmer
http://www.vuw.ac.nz/~bharmer/
Patricia V. Lehman
>
> Ian Douthwaite
I'm so glad you wrote, Ian. I've been feeling a deep urge to do the
electronic equivalent of bringing over a bunch of cinnamon rolls to the
house, but didn't know anybody who knew Colin in the flesh. Clearly you
do understand how wonderful and exasperating your father could be, and
how much he contributed to making this abstract world lively and human.
Tish
Donovan
It must be obvious to you, just how much your father meant to all of us.
Thanks for taking the time to let us know the story of our friend.
I hope the new thread, 'Dedicated to Colin,' in alt.ascii-art brings you
some visual idea at how much he meant to us. It was the first pic I drew in
about 6 months. He was the reason for me to do it.
Love,
Reguards,
& Peace, _-====-__-======-__-========-_____-============-__
Donovan _( P O E M S B Y D O N O V A N _)
OO( ASCII Art, Secret Link Game, and DA QUIZ! )_
0 (_ http://www.geocities.com/Paris/LeftBank/6558/ _)
o0 (_ Mailto:don...@misslink.net & ICQ#: 812836 _)
o '=-___-===-_____-========-___________-===-dwb-='
.o _________
. ______ ______________ | | _____
_()_||__|| ________ | | |_________| __||___||__
(BNSF 1995| | | | | __Y______00_| |_ _|
/-OO----OO""="OO--OO"="OO--------OO"="OO-------OO"="OO-------OO"=P
#####################################################################
(".___.") EVANS PLUNGE BEANIE BABIES PRICE LIST
_ { + } _
()__|>o<|__() http://www.misslink.net/donovan/bb1.html
( . )
(_) (_) New & Retired Beanies available. Prices at $6.95!
Colin Douthwaite wrote in message <36e78189...@news.southern.co.nz>...
>As some of you maky have heard, Colin Douthwaite, my father, died suddenly
>but peacefully on 1 March 1999.
>
>Dad was 69 and had had a long period of ill-health after major heart
attacks
>in 1991 and an almost-fatal cardiac arrest while kite-flying in 1997. So
>although his death is a shock, it is not totally unexpected. Dad had had
>quite a bad period before Christmas but had recovered well in the last few
>weeks, and only last week performed with the Christchurch Liedertafel choir
>for the launching of a new lifeboat at the Port of Lyttelton. He was in
>great spirits and enjoying life.
>
>Over the last seven or eight years, his participation in various newsgroups
>has been a great source of enjoyment for him, particularly at those times
he
>was unable to pursue more physical activities. He relished telling us at
>length about new ASCII pictures and about the machinations of Usenet
>politics. He even relished the occasional flame-war. The thanks of my
family
>go to all you who participated in this form of fellowship which gave him so
>much pleasure. Thank you too, for the many kind messages I have just
browsed
>in several of his favourite groups. They will be a great additional comfrot
>to my mother.
>
>Thanks to a suggestion from an alt.ascii-art regular, I hope Dad's memory
>will be preserved through the enjoyment of an archive of some of his quirky
>ASCII art.
Jay Denebeim
Donovan <don...@misslink.net> wrote:
>I hope the new thread, 'Dedicated to Colin,' in alt.ascii-art brings you
>some visual idea at how much he meant to us.
Please don't crosspost those out of your newsgroup. Many people find
most ascii art annoying, especially commercial ascii art.
Jay
--
* Jay Denebeim Moderator rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated *
* newsgroup submission address: b5...@deepthot.aurora.co.us *
* moderator contact address: b5mod-...@deepthot.aurora.co.us *
* personal contact address: dene...@deepthot.aurora.co.us *
Tony Williams
Brian Harmer <brian....@vuw.ac.nz> wrote:
> There is something eerie about the loss of a cyber-acquaintance - a
> sense of unfinished business. How could you go before we ever met,
> face to face? I did a quick scan of Dejanews and note that Colin was
> still posting as recently as 26 February, in his usual feisty manner
> on the CFV for Canterbury, and before that, crossing swords with me
> over the Crump documentary.
From: Colin Douthwaite <cf...@southern.co.nz>
Newsgroups: nz.reg.christchurch.general
Subject: Re: FAQ: The nz.* Usenet Hierarchy.
Date: 28 Feb 1999 06:58:10 GMT
Organization: Southern InterNet Services
Message-ID: <92018509...@mnementh.southern.co.nz>
This is the last one I saw from him, looks to
be about one day before he died.
CD's death is the third one for me on usenet and
you are right, there is something eerie and strange
in the sudden cessation and finality of it.
--
Tony Williams.
t.r.mcloughlin
>
> > Warm regards to all of you who "knew" Colin....
> >
> > Ian Douthwaite
>
> electronic equivalent of bringing over a bunch of cinnamon rolls to the
> house, but didn't know anybody who knew Colin in the flesh. Clearly you
> do understand how wonderful and exasperating your father could be, and
> how much he contributed to making this abstract world lively and human.
Not much more to add, but plenty to second.
Oh, and here, let me get the cinnamon rolls:
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @
t "baker" rm
Colin Douthwaite
but peacefully on 1 March 1999.
Dad was 69 and had had a long period of ill-health after major heart attacks
in 1991 and an almost-fatal cardiac arrest while kite-flying in 1997. So
although his death is a shock, it is not totally unexpected. Dad had had
quite a bad period before Christmas but had recovered well in the last few
weeks, and only last week performed with the Christchurch Liedertafel choir
for the launching of a new lifeboat at the Port of Lyttelton. He was in
great spirits and enjoying life.
Over the last seven or eight years, his participation in various newsgroups
has been a great source of enjoyment for him, particularly at those times he
was unable to pursue more physical activities. He relished telling us at
length about new ASCII pictures and about the machinations of Usenet
politics. He even relished the occasional flame-war. The thanks of my family
go to all you who participated in this form of fellowship which gave him so
much pleasure. Thank you too, for the many kind messages I have just browsed
in several of his favourite groups. They will be a great additional comfrot
to my mother.
Thanks to a suggestion from an alt.ascii-art regular, I hope Dad's memory
will be preserved through the enjoyment of an archive of some of his quirky
ASCII art.
Warm regards to all of you who "knew" Colin....
Ian Douthwaite
Enkidu
Cliff
dolores
I'm very sad to hear this, Ian. Your father was one of my favorite allies
during one ugly news.groups debate several years back. I always enjoyed the
intelligence and wit of his posts.
Dolores
dolores
Jay Denebeim wrote:
I'm sure they will try to avoid doing so. However, it's incredibly tacky to
reprimand folks who are paying respect to someone in the Usenet community
who's just passed away.
Dolores
(posted & emailed)
Dyan Campbell
: Ian Douthwaite, daring just once to use his Dad's account
: without his permission wrote:
: >As some of you may have heard, Colin Douthwaite, my father, died
: >suddenly but peacefully on 1 March 1999.
: Ian,
I'm really sorry to hear this. Thank you for posting this for NZ General
and tell your family he will be sorely missed here.
cheers
dyan
Masatoshi Otsubo
Your father's death is a tremendous loss. Not only because
he was a substantial part of the rec.kites group, but also
because he was my mentor when I was a newbie, struggling to
learn kiting and internetting.
And it was a pleasant surprise to find out he was also active
in the sci.med groups as a survivor from not a few heart-
attacks, and once he sent me an e-mail inquiring on a new
anti-heart-failure drug produced in Japan. Unfortunately,
this one turned out to be a total failure in the trial in
the USA.
As one of the medical professionals, I truly regret this
advanced medicine was unable to make him live longer until
we ever met in person, though I am only relieved to hear his
passing was peaceful.
Farewell to Colin F. B. Douthwaite, we shall miss you, now a
guardian angel, watching from the heavens.
My prayers go to you and your mother in your bereavement.
In article <36e78189...@news.southern.co.nz>,
cf...@southern.co.nz says...
>
>As some of you maky have heard, Colin Douthwaite, my father, ...
--- snip ---
My prayers go to you and your mother in your bereavement.
Sincere condolence from Japan,
Masatoshi
--
Masatoshi Otsubo <mot...@osk.3web.ne.jp>
Life is short, and the Art long; the Internet time-consuming...
Even time flies. Why not go exploring the wonder world of
kiting? May the wind gods bless you with a fair breeze.
Jay Denebeim
Dyan Campbell <dy...@shell.iconz.co.nz> wrote:
>I'm really sorry to hear this. Thank you for posting this for NZ General
>and tell your family he will be sorely missed here.
That he will be. Colin and I almost always didn't agree with each
other, however he was always sure of his views and had good reasons
them. I'll miss him.
Miche and Dave
> : Ian Douthwaite, daring just once to use his Dad's account
> : without his permission wrote:
>
> : >As some of you may have heard, Colin Douthwaite, my father, died
> : >suddenly but peacefully on 1 March 1999.
>
> : Ian,
>
> I'm really sorry to hear this. Thank you for posting this for NZ General
> and tell your family he will be sorely missed here.
Yeah. What she said. RIP Colin.
Miche (words always fail me at times like this)
--
DO NOT USE REPLY to send me email!
The address in my From: line is a spam trap.
My real email address is:
dhmec at albatross dot co dot nz
http://www.xenu.net
Martin Atkins
|As some of you maky have heard, Colin Douthwaite, my father, died suddenly
|but peacefully on 1 March 1999.
|
Sincerest condolences to you, your mother and all other family and friends.
Colin will be missed tremendously on alt.ascii-art, and all of the other
newsgroups he frequented I'm sure.
-Martin
Meindert de Jong
when i had to visit nz a few years ago i discovered
that colin lived at christchurch. so i announced
this to colin and we made an appointment. he picked
me up at agresearch, he had printouts with different
fonts of my 'net surfers license' and he even recognized
me from these. we drove to his home, he showed me his
ascii-art files, we had a nice chat about ascii-art,
he explained that this pc was a gift from you (?)
after retirement (?) and that he enjoyed creating
and sampoling ascii-art very much.
then we shared a very enjoyable supper with your mother
too, i think potatoes, carrots, and fish fried by colin (?).
then he drove me to the ymca, and i remember that
he liked it very much to see the brand new building
of the ymca.
last year, i visited christchurch again but i couldn't
make an appointment because his e-mail was bouncing.
when in christchurch i found his phone number but
unfortunately i got a flare up of my ms. well later
perhaps, i thought quite a bit optimistic. (by the end
of this year i think i'm gonna visit christchurch again.)
well, this is just a little narrative which i hope is a
bit of a consolation. (a bit belated because in a 'schub'.)
we have lost our 'grandmaitre' in ascii-art much too early
and that is very sad.
best wishes,
meindert