OM aka Bob Mosley

[Gene DiGennaro]

Some of us oldtimers here remember a fellow who went by the screename of OM. He was a cantankerous trollish fellow that knew his stuff but internet etiquette was certainly not his forte! He ruled this group for years.

It is my sad duty to inform folks that OM aka Bob Mosley passed away today from complications due to diabetes. RIP Bob, we'll miss you.

[Jeff Findley]

In article <b9f0fb71-2f3e-486d...@googlegroups.com>,
genedi...@hotmail.com says...

>
> Some of us oldtimers here remember a fellow who went by the screename of OM. He was a cantankerous trollish fellow that knew his stuff but internet etiquette was certainly not his forte! He ruled this group for years.
>
> It is my sad duty to inform folks that OM aka Bob Mosley passed away today from complications due to diabetes. RIP Bob, we'll miss you.

Very sad news. I had been following Bob on Facebook after he left these
newsgroups.

Jeff
--
"the perennial claim that hypersonic airbreathing propulsion would
magically make space launch cheaper is nonsense -- LOX is much cheaper
than advanced airbreathing engines, and so are the tanks to put it in
and the extra thrust to carry it." - Henry Spencer

[David Spain]

On 10/14/2015 4:59 PM, Gene DiGennaro wrote:
> Some of us oldtimers here remember a fellow who went by the screename of OM. He was a cantankerous trollish fellow that knew his stuff but internet etiquette was certainly not his forte! He ruled this group for years.
>
> It is my sad duty to inform folks that OM aka Bob Mosley passed away today from complications due to diabetes. RIP Bob, we'll miss you.
>

What is it about October and old time contributors to sci.space.*?
It was around October 2010 we lost Pat Flannery and now Bob Mosley...
Almost exactly 5 years to the day...

Bob was indeed 'cantankerous', and didn't suffer folks gladly that he
felt were either foolish 'pontificates' spreading disinformation or
those whom he felt had wronged him publicly. After all, it was he who
introduced me to the word 'catamite'. heh.

But I will remember him mostly for his contribution here on the Columbia
Accident Investigation Review Board FAQ. A brief search (all I have time
for at the moment) could not turn up this excellent web page of his as a
fitting memorial. Perhaps when I have more time or another reader perhaps?

Bob knew his stuff and I wish I had been more of a participant some
20-15 years back when this group was in its heyday.

There is something to be said for web forums these days, what with the
graphics support and all. And the heavy moderation that is normal there
prevents a lot of the flame fests that used to erupt in the newsgroups.
But one thing I DO miss that has NOT been replaced, is that fact that
there was a time when there was ONE place people tended to congregate to
exchange news and views on space. And that was here in these very
newsgroups.

Along with Bob Mosley, aka OM, I miss that most of all...

David Spain

[Snidely]

Gene DiGennaro used thar keyboard to writen:

Bob at his best was among the best. Detailed knowledge of our specific
subject matter, and a bunch of other stuff that was also valuable.

Ad astrum, OM.

/dps

--
I have always been glad we weren't killed that night. I do not know
any particular reason, but I have always been glad.
_Roughing It_, Mark Twain

[Jeff Findley]

In article <mvo8c3$av5$1...@dont-email.me>, nos...@127.0.0.1 says...

>
> But I will remember him mostly for his contribution here on the Columbia
> Accident Investigation Review Board FAQ. A brief search (all I have time
> for at the moment) could not turn up this excellent web page of his as a
> fitting memorial. Perhaps when I have more time or another reader perhaps?

Clearly this isn't the original, but an archived copy, but still, here
it is:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/837444/posts

[David Spain]

On 10/16/2015 7:13 AM, Jeff Findley wrote:

> Clearly this isn't the original, but an archived copy, but still, here
> it is:
>
> http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/837444/posts
>
> Jeff
>

Thanks Jeff!

[Mendenhall]

On Wednesday, October 14, 2015 at 4:59:20 PM UTC-4, Gene DiGennaro wrote:
> Some of us oldtimers here remember a fellow who went by the screename of OM. He was a cantankerous trollish fellow that knew his stuff but internet etiquette was certainly not his forte! He ruled this group for years.
>
> It is my sad duty to inform folks that OM aka Bob Mosley passed away today from complications due to diabetes. RIP Bob, we'll miss you.

Who remembers how Bob used to threaten to beat people to death? Or how he liked to claim he was going to beat people up with a spiked baseball bat? Or how he used to call people child molesters? Or how he wished that people he did not like would be anally raped in prison? Or how he drove people away because of his hostility?

He's burning in hell now.

[Jeff Findley]

In article <a0e8c99d-913c-423d...@googlegroups.com>,
zirc...@cox.net says...

I remember him engaging in that sort of behavior when the trolls came
out in force after the Columbia disaster. His response was to organize
a Columbia Accident FAQ (an archived snapshot is here).

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/837444/posts

> He's burning in hell now.

Possibly, but his contributions to these newsgroups did span the range
from the slightly negative to extremely positive, IMHO.

[da...@ece.ubc.ca]

Oh, no! I was a regular participant in this group back in the 90s and 00's.

Out of the blue, I thought I would check up on the old neighbourhood. I'm very sad that the first post that I saw was Gene's announcement of OM's passing.

Rest in peace, old friend. You will be missed.

--
Dave Michelson
da...@ece.ubc.ca

[Stuf4]

From Gene DiGennaro:

Thanks for letting us know, Gene. I'm only now seeing this. I would have been interested in meeting him face to face. I might have gotten a better understanding of him. Alas, he has reached the Omega point of his own life.


There is another death announcement to make, impacting the ssh community. I'll post on a different thread.

~ CT

[Matthew Ota]

On Wednesday, October 14, 2015 at 1:59:20 PM UTC-7, Gene DiGennaro wrote:
> Some of us oldtimers here remember a fellow who went by the screename of OM. He was a cantankerous trollish fellow that knew his stuff but internet etiquette was certainly not his forte! He ruled this group for years.
>
> It is my sad duty to inform folks that OM aka Bob Mosley passed away today from complications due to diabetes. RIP Bob, we'll miss you.

I will not miss him. He was rude and combative. Very poor manners. Not a gentleman.

[Snidely]

Matthew Ota submitted this idea :

I miss him. He was indeed rude and combative and not a gentleman, but
he made many contributions. When /Columbia/ was lost, he put together
a web site that had a lot of information in one place that would
otherwise have been spread over the web like debris.

/dps

--
But happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue. One must have a reason
to 'be happy.'"
Viktor Frankl

[Jeff Findley]

In article <mn.f89b7e034e10d5ac.127094@snitoo>, snide...@gmail.com
says...

>
> Matthew Ota submitted this idea :
> > On Wednesday, October 14, 2015 at 1:59:20 PM UTC-7, Gene DiGennaro wrote:
> >> Some of us oldtimers here remember a fellow who went by the screename of OM.
> >> He was a cantankerous trollish fellow that knew his stuff but internet
> >> etiquette was certainly not his forte! He ruled this group for years.
> >>
> >> It is my sad duty to inform folks that OM aka Bob Mosley passed away today
> >> from complications due to diabetes. RIP Bob, we'll miss you.
> >
> > I will not miss him. He was rude and combative. Very poor manners. Not a
> > gentleman.
>
> I miss him. He was indeed rude and combative and not a gentleman, but
> he made many contributions. When /Columbia/ was lost, he put together
> a web site that had a lot of information in one place that would
> otherwise have been spread over the web like debris.

You take the good with the bad. I too wish he was still around.

Jeff
--
All opinions posted by me on Usenet News are mine, and mine alone.
These posts do not reflect the opinions of my family, friends,
employer, or any organization that I am a member of.

[Juthan]

I used to be a regular poster to the sci.space.* groups back when it was still Usenet and before there were kids and mortgages etc. Even won myself a coveted "I corrected Henry Spencer" t-shirt at one point.

Thought I'd pop in to have a look, and amongst all the cobwebs I found this notice of Bob's passing. Yes he could be infuriating at times, and his sometimes combative approach to discussion was not ideal. But personally I often felt much of that was for show. I'm very much saddened to hear that he is no longer with us.

As others have said his effort and leadership in establishing the Columbia Accident FAQ over on sci.space.shuttle showed his genuine side.

I'm a little late, but to quote Fred Haise..... "Farewell OM, and we thank you".

Cheers,
Justin Wigg

[Jeff Findley]

In article <76df575f-f0e7-45c1...@googlegroups.com>,
juth...@gmail.com says...

The Columbia Accident FAQ was a great piece of work.

[Stuf4]

Here is a comment I had posted to this forum earlier this year:

=========
...the reason why SSH became a cesspool was never the fault of any one person in particular. I saw it to be the fault of the group as a whole.

If there is ever a case (cyber or non) where one person is being abusively treated, then other members of the community have the opportunity to speak up to voice objection to such behavior. There is a critical mass where a certain number of people are acting abusively, and another certain percentage are choosing to remain silent on the matter, forming a tacit base of approval. THAT is when a turning point is reached and a community becomes toxic.

The problem here was never OM as an individual. It was everyone who chose the path of not respecting all members. And it was everyone who remained silent, enabling such toxicity to persist.

This is hardly a problem limited to this forum. Nor limited to Usenet. Nor limited to the web. It is a problem that has persisted throughout all of human history.
=========


John Glenn died this week. He did not live a perfect life. But he lived a very disciplined, principled life. For me, that puts him into a category with folks like George Washington.

Some people live their lives as role models.
Others serve as examples of character traits to be avoided.
And the line between the two is not always distinct.
We are all capable of behavior on either side of that line.
Every day we are faced with choices for which side to be on.
But eventually those decisions quicken into our habits.
And that is what defines us as our character.

~ CT

[Matthew Ota]

On Wednesday, October 14, 2015 at 1:59:20 PM UTC-7, Gene DiGennaro wrote:

> Some of us oldtimers here remember a fellow who went by the screename of OM. He was a cantankerous trollish fellow that knew his stuff but internet etiquette was certainly not his forte! He ruled this group for years.
>
> It is my sad duty to inform folks that OM aka Bob Mosley passed away today from complications due to diabetes. RIP Bob, we'll miss you.

In my book that asshole OM Bob Mosley is best forgotten. He was rude, obnoxious and antosocial, hiding behind a handle "OM" and not using his real name, probably paranoid about being physically attacked for all of the insults he posted. He is not even worth remembering. Rot in hell, asshole.

[Stuf4]

From Matthew Ota:

Criticize a dead guy for being rude. And then sign off with "Rot in hell, asshole."

Irony much?

Another person who is no longer with us is George HW Bush. And while he too had his failings, he did uphold a vision of a world that was "kinder and gentler".

I'd say that's an admirable goal worth pursuing.

Today is the 50th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 8. TLI happened at 9:47:05 am Houston time. And not long after that, these astronauts became the first human beings ever to witness our planet as a whole.

December 21st, 1968, fifty years ago today, our species experienced a singular shift in consciousness where the land we live on was no longer seen as fractured with borders. We came to know Earth as our own spaceship, with each of us as crewmembers, having our own duties to uphold. Our spaceship has a sensitive life support system, and it needs to be cared for.

If there is one among us who treats the other crewmembers with cruelty, the kinder and gentler response for us to have is compassion. Understanding of how they got that way. And more importantly, not add to the cruelty ourselves.

The Apollo 8 crew of Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders may have launched 50 years ago as homo sapiens. But they returned as homo sapiens+.

Humanity had accomplished a singular step in our evolution as a species. The three of them returned with the hope that all of us would learn from what they learned, and that we would start to treat each other with respect and kindness as the standard. No longer harming each other.

Well if you listen to the 50th anniversary talks they have given in 2018, you can hear how disappointed they are. We may have progressed in many areas. But in other areas we have stayed mostly the same. As a species, we have not progresses anywhere near as much as they had hoped.

We can change this tomorrow if we want. Or more immediately, we have the power to collectively change this right now.

Here on this forum there has been some severely nasty things that have been said and done. But that did not end with the most vocal among us having died off. It is still happening this year, in 2018. Still plenty of nastiness.

Each of us has the potential to be horrible toward our fellow human beings. Our fellow ssh members. Imagine if, before clicking 'Post', we checked ourselves...

If this person I am attempting to communicate with was a member of my crew on a spaceship on our mission, are these words I would present to them? Well Borman-Lovell-Anders would tell us that we actually are. We all are crewmates.

...and we can start right now to treat each other with the respect and kindness that are necessary for treating any fellow crewmember.

December 21st fifty years ago today was the moment when we first attained this shift in consciousness. That we are all in this together.

It is clear to me that this day was the singular most important day in the entire history of human spaceflight. And can be extended far beyond that.

Today is a day that can be used as the anchor point for a New Epoch. It could be known as:

- Before Whole Earth Awareness (BWEA)
- After Whole Earth Awareness (AWEA)

There was a time when primitive peoples understood the Earth to be flat. Some still believe this today. Not everyone will be able to make the shift in consciousness. Evolution has forks, and there will always be those who remain on the old path.

But a critical mass have made the shift. And it is up to us to continue with this progress toward the point where it becomes the norm.

Today marks "Year 50 AWEA", if you will. From the larger perspective of time, we have barely taken our first steps from the cradle. We have a bright future ahead, so long as we collectively decide to work toward that future cooperatively.

There have been many who have been steadfastly confident that we can and will do that.

One way to have an excellent reminder is to honor today as a Special Day. It could be called...

- Whole Earth Day,
- TLI Day,

...or maybe something else. It need not start as a UN Special Day, nor even a special day recognized by your entire town or neighborhood. It can start with each of us who cares about this shift to recognize it for ourselves. And we can watch it grow from there.

And it is quite fitting that the day is December 21st. This is the December solstice. The turning point of the Sun itself. So a perfect day to be celebrated as a turning point for all of humanity as well.

~ CT

[Bohica Johnson]

On Thursday, October 15, 2015 at 7:59:20 AM UTC+11, Gene DiGennaro wrote:
> Some of us oldtimers here remember a fellow who went by the screename of OM. He was a cantankerous trollish fellow that knew his stuff but internet etiquette was certainly not his forte! He ruled this group for years.
>
> It is my sad duty to inform folks that OM aka Bob Mosley passed away today from complications due to diabetes. RIP Bob, we'll miss you.

I have not been here since 2001. Sad to here about OM.

[David Spain]

Here's a copy of an update I posted a while back in sci.space.policy:
What goes for sci.space policy also goes for sci.space.history:

If you haven't been following sci.space -> sci.space.policy for awhile
you should know the following:

1) Pat Flannery passed away in October 2011.

2) The "OM", Bob Mosley passed away in October 2015.

3) Fred McCall passed away in July 2019.

4) Henry Spencer left sci.space.* news groups nearly two decades ago but
still posts on the ARocket Mailing List:

> https://www.freelists.org/archive/arocket/

5) Mary Shafer never posts here anymore. I don't know what her status is
these days. [It is said shes live in retirement and no longer posts
after her husband died]

6) Rand Simberg left sci.space.* newsgroups for his own blog here:

> http://www.transterrestrial.com/

7) Herb Shaltegger left sci.space.* newsgroups for the forums at
NASASpaceFlight dot com here:

> https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php

8) Greg Moore has taken over moderation of the sci.space.tech
sci.space.science newsgroups. They are pretty much exclusively news
bulletins now from NASA and The Planetary Society, but you can still
post there when Greg approves it.

There is very little traffic here anymore. Most of the discussions have
moved to the moderated web forums, like NASA Space Flight dot com (see
above).

Millennials look at newsgroups like my generation looked at punch cards!

[Darth Brooks]

David Hammar, "Dave H" who posted back in the day, passed away in 2013.

I used to post as "TVDadJim" but that was many moons ago.