Angry Bob

When the Web was new or, for many, when you were new to the Web, you would find yourself exploring this interesting world of hyperlinks – each a door leading you to new discoveries and more doors to open into even more discovery. Endless hours were wasted in aimless wandering and wonder. It was that way for me.

Now it is all so “old hat” and my time so limited that my focus has narrowed. I just seek out the information I need, tossing aside those links that lead “nowhere”, never taking the time I no longer have to explore. That is, until today. Today I wasted endless hours exploring, and am the richer for it.

I was seeking sources for Ham Radio software for Linux. A “Google Search: <Linux>” search quickly lead me to HAMSOFT. Looking at that site’s selection under digital software I found Rtty, a promising piece that was authored in Spanish. The page, however, has a link to an archived Debian-Hams mail list message containing an English translation of the documentation. Three quarters down that page is a link that introduced me to a man I never met, will never get the chance to meet, but who I’ll not soon forget.

That link lead me to a well written, extremely usable set of web applications for the design of digital and analog filters. There is also an impressive Java circuit simulator. Although the pages on their own wouldn’t win design awards, they are as clean and efficient as the applications they support. I was so intrigued by the site’s simplistic utility and seemingly complete understanding of the treated subject, I had to visit the author’s home page to find out more about him.

There at the top of the page was the saddening news that Tony Fisher had passed away a year ago last February. Tony died of cancer at the young age of 43. I realized then I was staring at a man’s life – frozen in time – as rendered in HTML. There before me lay Tony’s words and works, last updated only a month before his death.

As I browsed Tony’s site I discovered this was the work of a truly remarkable man, one who’s life was cut short in mid-stride, and someone who was as colorful as his namesake. The tribute to Tony linked to in the announcement calls him “a genuine bearded eccentric.” I’d more liken him to real Renaissance Man, a man of many talents. Reading his breadth of interests and depth of contributions, I couldn’t help but wonder if I hadn’t already been influenced by his work in some indirect way.

Tony Fisher was, at the time of his death, a lecturer in the Computer Science Department of the University of York where he taught courses on embedded microcomputer systems design, digital signal processing, and data communications. Much of his research was in radionavagation and DSP, and he had published numerous papers on the subject. Among his interests was music. He played several instruments and, notably, the Oboe for the York Symphony Orchestra, “one of the oldest amateur orchestras in the United Kingdom.” He was an avid fan of linguistics. The result of this interest is contained on his site as the complete Greek New Testament with grammatical analysis of his own design. Primarily, Tony was a devoted husband and father.

A notice on the site dated 12th December 2000 states that the site will remain for the time, and his filter design aids will be moved to a new location. Personally, I’d hate to see this site go, it would be a terrible loss that the world would never get the opportunity to know him, as I just did. There is much to explore on Tony’s site about who he was and the work that he did. It is a standing tribute and memorial to a prolific individual.

I never met the man and yet I find myself sadly missing him.