Carrying on in Robert's Memory

Mr. Robert Bruce Thompson, formerly of Winston-Salem, NC, passed away Saturday evening, January 20, 2018 at Winston-Salem Nursing and Rehab from heart complications.

Robert was born in Pennsylvania on June 6, 1953, to the late William E. Thompson and Lenore Fulkerson Thompson. He was an accomplished author and scientist, publishing books on computers and the sciences. Robert built and sold science kits in support of home school education throughout the United States.

He is survived by his wife of 34 years Barbara Fritchman Thompson; a brother William Thompson; sister in law Frances Ann Johnson and husband Albert; and a beloved four legged friend "Collin".

Roberts friends, many who knew him only 'on-line', are keeping his site alive. There's much 'good stuff' to read here in his past writings.

His Home Scientist business of science and biology labs for home schooling, is still alive, with Ben Siciliano taking over the business. If you are interested in home study of chemistry, biology, or forensics, head on over to The Home Scientist at https://theHomeScientist.com .

Roberts Daily Blog is also continuing, with a wide variety of discussions still available. Check out Robert's Journal at https://ttgnet.com/journal .

This site, and his wife's journal at https://fritchman.com/journal , are maintained by Rick Hellewell of CellarWeb.com , another one of Robert's 'digital friends'.

There will be a few changes to Robert's site, mostly just link updates, and very little change of content. As we fix things, there might be a few 'missing links' that show up. Let Rick know about problems with the Contact Page (coming soon), or by email.

We invite you to wander around the place. There is much good information and thoughtful discourse from Robert over the years. Robert's words and thoughts, and his links are below. We'll be updating links and adding better search functions.

An entry point into Robert's old 'Daynotes' pages, spanning 1998-2011, is here. Just select the year you are interested, and go from there. There is no curation of content or links on the Daynotes pages; they are what they are.

- Rick Hellewell, CellarWeb.com

Robert Bruce Thompson

Welcome to my personalhome page. When people ask me who I am orwhat I do, I tell them I'm a writer. I write books about computers,both to earn money and because I enjoy doing so. When I'm not writingcomputer books, I'm usually writing something else just for fun. WhenI'm not writing, I'm almost always reading things others have written,or, on clear nights, out with our telescopes observing the wonders ofthe night sky.

Most of the action around hereoccurs in these places:

The DaynotesJournal page is my daybook and personal diary, and is normallyupdated daily or more often. It details the vagaries of a writer'slife, along with random observations about things both important andtrivial. It includes everything from notes about building new computersand installing new software (both of which I do frequently) toobservations about politics and the weather. (Note: the latest entries in the continuation of Robert's Journal are at https://ttgnet.com/journal . )

The Daynotes JournalMessageboard was one of two messageboards we operated. It's aplace for readers to talk to me (and each other) about whatever strikestheir fancy. The intention is for discussions of general topics tooccur on this messageboard, with technical discussions taking place onthe HardwareGuys.com messageboard, described below. (Note: discontinued.)

The HardwareGuys.comMessageboard, was intended for technical discussions relating tocomputer hardware and software, with forums organized accordingly.(Note: discontinued.)

The Linkspage is set as the default home page for my browsers. I spend a lot ofmy browsing time at these sites. Actually, there are some obsoletelinks on that page, which I delete when I come across them. But most ofthem are worth visiting.

The Astronomy page is dedicated toBarbara's and my second hobby. Any night we're not reading, we'llprobably be out looking up at the night sky. There's a significantamount of material on this page already, with more to come.

The WhatI Use page is an annotated listing of the hardware and softwarethat I prefer. I created this page in October 2003, although years agoI had a similar page that I kept forgetting to update. I hope to dobetter this time...

I added the Genealogypage in January 2005. I'll add material there as I have time.

As I write this in early January, 2005, I'm 51 years old(DOB 6/6/53). I've been married for 21 years to Barbara, who gets veryannoyed with me when I introduce her to people as "my first wife." Wehave no children, but we do have two Border Collie dogs. Duncan justturned 10 on New Year's Day, 2005; and Malcolm just turned 5 old onSeptember 23, 2004.

I spend nearly all of my timeworking or reading, seldom venturing outside the house. When I spokewith our car insurance agent some time ago, he mentioned that he mightbe able to save us some money now that Barbara and I are both workingat home. He asked how much mileage I put on my Isuzu Trooper everymonth. "About fifty or so," I responded. "Only fifty miles a week! Youreally don't drive much, do you?," he said. "No, I meant fifty miles amonth," I responded. The upside to that is that I don't have to dealwith the aggravation of traffic. The downside is that I fill my gastank only every six months or so, and can never remember which side thefiller cap is on. That and the fact that I sometimes worry that I'llforget how to drive.

Barbara does almost everythingaround the house, leaving me free to work and read. I do help a little.I do the laundry every week, the dishes most evenings, help walk thedogs, and help clean up around the house. But otherwise she handleseverything, house and yard.

Copyright © 1998, 1999,2000, 2001, 2002,2003, 2004 by Robert Bruce Thompson. All Rights Reserved.