On the weekend I found out that a friend of mine, Lee "Blinky the Shark" Rizor, passed away last week due to complications from the flu. We had exchanged emails just the day before, and he had mentioned that he'd been ill with the flu but felt he was getting better.
The sudden passing took me quite by surprise and I was more than a little upset at the news. He was a larger than life character with a very strong personality. Hard to believe that something like the flu can take away someone that full of life.
Blinky was very prolific in several newsgroups I frequented, mostly to do with computer and photography related topics. I recall when I first started using linux he helped me on many occasions and on many more since.
In the last year we discovered our mutual interest in photography and exchanged many emails about equipment, macro photography methods, sharing photos and critiquing each other's work. He was a retired TV cameraman who worked and lived near Hollywood.
His USENET alias of Blinky the Shark arose when he read somewhere that some sharks can't/don't blink. Many people on USENET don't use their real name for privacy reasons. I have know him for years as Blinky, and only recently learned his real name.
It sounds strange that you can meet someone through USENET, never know their real name and never meet them face to face, yet still be so affected with news of their passing.
Farewell Blinky. We'll miss you.
