Arthur C. Clarke has died in Sri-Lanka, at age 90. Now I’m by no means a big reader, I’d love to be, but I really never have the time. Still, from where I’m typing this I can count 25 books authored by Mr. Clarke on my bookshelf. His stories are an amazing blend of science fiction with facts or actual theory behind it. I was always a big fan of, 2001: A Space Odyssey, a flick my Mom first took me to when I was 8. The eerie (and accurate since there there is no atmosphere in space for it to travel through) lack of sound gave the movie its own unique character. Seeing the huge ship move through space without the usual roar of the engines sets it apart from the other films bogus atmosphere, and this sense of detail was pervasive throughout his writting. If pressed to pick a favorite, it would have to be Childhood’s End (with Randevous with Rama a close second). Each deal with the idea that while we’re the dominate force on this planet now, we weren’t in the past, and ultimately we won’t be in the future. We can only hope for more people as forward thinking. The New York Times has a fantastic writeup on his life, and accomplishments. “_…The author of almost 100 books, Mr. Clarke was an ardent _ was based on an earlier short story called The Sentinel, time will tell if Mr. Clarke served as a sentinel for us all as our species eventually finds it’s place in the universe.