I was very sad to see this news this morning, age 49. Doug Adams, author of
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," etc., died of a heart attack in
Santa Barbara yesterday. I was lucky enough to have known Doug because we
used to speak at a lot of the same conferences. I always looked forward to
hearing his stories and talking with him. In person, although he was just
as funny as his books, he was also very warm and caring, passionate about
issues such as preserving the environment.
I first met him in 1988 and we immediately found ourselves talking about a
wide variety of interesting subjects, especially ideas about what computers
could become in the future. I stuck my foot in my mouth a little, as I
started trying to remember where I'd read about the idea of making music
from the patterns of the stock market. It was from one of Doug's books, but
he patiently waited until I remembered, then just grinned. I'd heard him
described as arrogant by others, but I never saw that side of him. I think
he was probably just shy around some kinds of people and it came off as
arrogance.
Well, we've lost a terrific storyteller. I know he was struggling to find
time to do all the things he imagined. I don't like to play the "what if"
game, but goodness, if he had lived another 20 or 30 years, what we might
have heard and read from him!
Nick
