Googbits Essays

Thomas Stockham was crucial in determining two things: sound can be captured digitally, and Nixon lied. What a life. —DXO Thomas G. Stockham Jr., 70, Digital Pioneer, DiesBy KENNETH N. GILPINThomas G. Stockham Jr., a pioneer in digital electronics whose work helped to pave the way for the transition from long-playing records to compact discs, died on Jan. 6…

I always wonder about people like Fred Haas. His titular accomplishment– the headline of his obituary– was achieved 58 years ago. He lived 58 years after the apogee of his career. I wonder what he thought about that. Moreover, his accomplishment was less about his excellence– though it was a PGA Tour victory, nothing to…

Kenneth Poch discovered something entirely knowable but completely hidden. The number of Jewish veterans buried in Arlington Cemetery was a discreet, real number. The number existed. It was a whole number. But it was not a known number. Kenneth Poch changed that. These types of things blow me away. Take for instance, the number of…

Earl Hindman, 61, the Neighbor Unseen on `Home Improvement,’ Is DeadBy WOLFGANG SAXON Earl Hindman, the actor known to millions as the odd neighbor barely seen as he peeks over the backyard fence in the long-running television situation comedy “Home Improvement,” died yesterday at Stamford Hospital in Connecticut. A Stamford resident, he was 61. The cause was lung cancer, said his…

One thing I love about reading obituaries is because of patterns. Here’s a pattern: real estate ownership issues can be really thorny. Think Western Wall / Temple Mount. Or any civic zoning dispute. That stuff I’m familiar with. But by reading the Times of India, I am able to read about what appears to be a pretty intense land dispute that has a…