Saturday, June 25, 2011

Bob A Pease


It is rare that the death of a person you have never seen leaves you feeling that it is a personal loss. The death of Bob Pease left me such a  feeling of loss.

I am sure Bob would have laughed at the news of his death. 

I came to know of Bob Pease from his column called Pease Porridge. Articles in this column were invariably titled "What is all this --- Stuff Anyhow?" What took the place of --- had great variety. Femtoamperes, Double-clutching, Neatness and so on, to name a few.
This man is a legend and held in great awe by those who know or admire or interested in the field of analog electronics. He was a designer par excellence. Larger than life. With a great intuition, imagination and deep knowledge and above all, great love for the analog world.

Tragically, he died in a car crash involving his eloved VW Beatle. He is the author of a book on how to avoid a car crash. And he was returning from the memorial service of another legend in the field of Analog electronics - Jim Willam.

Among other interests, Bob trekked in the Himalayas. The only sort of contact I had with him was when a friend and I wrote to him to find out how much it would cost to join him on one of his trips. (There was an invitation to those interested in joining him to write to him). I could, if I had the money and I did not. 

He was gracious, witty and meticulous in his reply. Every point I had made was followed with a *** in the next line and his answer. 

Whether you are interested in Analog or not, whether you are an engineer or not, google him and read a little about him and a few of his articles. You will be ther richer for it. 





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