Goodbye Don (1942-2008)

General Hammond

I was already jolted by 3 deaths last week and this morning, I was shocked when I read when one of my favourite actors Don S. Davis who played General George Hammond in Stargate SG-1, Stargate : Atlantis and in Stargate : Continumm had left this world forever.

What made it worse was that, he died a month ago (June 29 2008) of what was reported to be a massive heart attack and (well, he’s not scandalous enough to be reported in the newspapers) none of the Stargate places which I usually hang out in even carried the story or at the very least places it in less than prominent places.

This is what Wikipedia has to say about his personal life :

Davis was born in Aurora, Missouri, a town in the Ozark Mountains. He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in theater and art from Southwest Missouri State College. He received a master’s degree in theatre from the Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 1970.^[9] He taught for several years before returning to SIU to complete a Ph.D. in theatre. He began working in the film industry in the 1980s, while teaching at the University of British Columbia. In 1987 he stopped teaching in order to pursue acting full-time.

Not satisfied with just acting, he was also a visual artist, spending most of his free time painting or carving. Davis grew up painting, sculpting and drawing. He continued to pursue these crafts his entire life, supplementing his income with design commissions and art sales.

Davis died on June 29, 2008.^[2] The cause of death was reported to be a massive heart attack.^[1][3] In lieu of flowers or gifts, the Davis’s family requested that donations be made to the American Heart Association in his memory.^[10]

He was a great entertainer. I really loved his potrayal of General George Hammond. He’ll truly be missed, not just by me but by all Stargate fans. A great talent and a great loss to the world of the arts.

I guess, we’ll all be saying farewell to him in Stargate : Continuum.  

I take this moment to quote George Fabricius (from In Praise of Georgius Agricola) who was in turn quoted by Dr. Elizabeth Weir (Torri Higginson) in Stargate : Atlantis which I think is so appropriate for this occasion :

Death comes to all. but great achievements raise a monument which shall endure until the sun grows cold.

Goodbye Don, I’ll miss you.

-Salute-

Wanted : Retro PC

Hey guys! Again, I seem to be dropping in and out of hyperspace, or should I say cyberspace? : )

Well, stuff happens anyway. One might think that with Malaysia’s politics going into hyper mode, I’ll have lots to write. Truth is, I do and I have my personal opinions on everything that is going on, some of which cut right through party lines. But somehow I feel, politics is already a bit overdone, so I don’t really want to jump in.  

Okay, today’s post is this about something else. I’m looking for a PC from the 1990s. Yes, you heard that right, the good old 1990s. Kind of miss that decade really. I really love the 1980s and the 1990s, this decade doesn’t seem inspiring at all.

Despite all the advancements in computer graphics and stuff, somehow -with the execption of CnC : Generals and CnC : Generals : Zero Hour- I don’t really find the latest games really interesting. I am looking for a PC with these specs :

(Intel Or AMD) 486DX4 – 100 Mhz

16MB RAM

540MB HDD

Creative Sound Blaster Sound Card (with Speakers)

Epson Stylus Printer

15″ Monitor

Keyboard / Mouse

Well, it’s basically this. Of course, I’d take lower specs but nothing less than an 80486DX processor and 4MD RAM plus with with the Creative Sound Blaster Sound Card (with the speakers of course).

An 80486SX does not come with a built in math co-processor and so I don’t want a PC that slow. Well okay, that’s an odd use of the word slow since the specs above look pretty slow anyway. But I tell you, a PC with the specs above, during it’s heyday could cost up to RM5000. And when you take into account deflation and other stuff, it might cost up to RM8000 in today’s money.

The PC is the most important part. So it’s okay if you don’t have a mouse, or a keyboard or a monitor. I’m especially looking for a PC from the 1990s. And if possible, I’d like a mini-tower casing.

Anyway, those who either have such a PC or with to tell me that they do know where I can procure one, please do send me an e-mail to darus_abdulrazak@live.com