"Beam me up..." -- James Doohan dies at age 85

James Doohan, who portrayed Scotty in Star Trek, has died today at the age of 85.

Doohan had been fighting both Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases in recent years. He was a WWII veteran who served in the Canadian Forces and fought at the D-Day invasion.

A versatile actor, he was best known for his role as Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott in the three seasons of the original series, six Trek motion pictures and one episode of Next Generation.

I had never had the good fortune to meet him personally, but several people I know were lucky enough to see him speak at sci-fi conventions. They've told me that Jimmy was always a down-to-earth man, the kind of person you'd like as a grandfather.

I watched Trek quite a bit growing up... I've always felt that Scotty had a part in inspiring my career choice. He was a model for geeks and gearheads the world over.

Godspeed, Jimmy. You will be missed.

Happy 4th of July!

For those readers in the U.S., Happy Independence Day! Stay safe, enjoy the fireworks, and have fun!

Asshat of the week: man claims trademark on word "stealth", other dictionary words

In a story at The New York Times (registration required, via Slashdot), a man by the name of Leo Stoller claims to possess exclusive trademark rights to the word "stealth" in all uses, as well as other dictionary words such as "aerospace", "terminator", "starlight", "fable", and ironically enough "chutzpah", a Yiddish word that means gall, audacity or nerve.

In English one could say this man has balls (or cojones in Spanish). Frankly, I feel another Yiddish word better describes Mr. Stoller...

..the man's a putz.

Through his "company", Rentamark, he actively pursues litigation of "trademark infringement" of many commonly used dictionary words. He's currently suing Sony's Columbia Pictures division over their new movie Stealth, claiming infringement even though he has nothing to do with the motion picture industry. Apparently, Columbia Pictures is counter-suing for declatory judgment, claiming Stoller's suit is frivolous.

Frankly, I hope Sony gives him the legal spanking this loser deserves. The patent and trademark system is farked up as it is without people like him coming in to make a fast buck off of it.

New virtualoak blog - Fountain of Memories

Well, it looks like there'll be another blog joining the virtualoak family - my wife has started her's, called Fountain of Memories. Her blog will deal with her own personal interests, which include scrapbooking and raising a family (which she does quite well, I might add).

If you were looking for her blog and ended up here instead, go to memories.virtualoak.net.