RIP Mr. Armstrong

I do not, as a rule, post death notices on this blog. Although both Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson have passed away since I started blogging, I didn't feel any impulse to comment. Their contributions were important to me personally, but still, I felt no compulsion to join the outpouring of public grieving. I didn't know them personally and I wasn't emotionally affected by their passing.

However, the news of the death of Neil Armstrong is different. He was a personal hero of mine. I became a scientist, in large part, because of the Apollo program. Although I finally settled on geology, I started out in my academic pursuits in astronomy until the maths finally became more than I could manage. Still, I have always been fascinated by space exploration and I've always felt that Apollo 11 was the pinnacle of human achievement. It is a sad day for me and humanity.

-Rognar-