duderonomy Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 Does anyone know where BAA is? I know he takes a vacation now and again, but has anyone heard that he was going on one? 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
★ Citsonga ★ Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 Wow. This post prompted me to check his account and I see that he hasn't logged on in over a month. That is highly unusual for him. I hope nothing tragic happened. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironhorse Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 Once I remember he took a leave, but I think he notified the forum members here that he would be absent a few weeks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator TheRedneckProfessor Posted January 1, 2018 Super Moderator Share Posted January 1, 2018 Indeed, if he did not inform us, then this is a highly unusual circumstance. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pantheory Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 His profile, aside from other-worldly declarations, states that his birthday is today, January 1st. Maybe true. If so happy birthday BAA 2018. Hope all is well in your universe 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disillusioned Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 No question that this is odd for BAA. Here's hoping everything is alright! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LogicalFallacy Posted January 3, 2018 Moderator Share Posted January 3, 2018 I too am worried. Last time he had to go suddenly he informed us all. Losing BAA would be a great loss. Here's hoping he is fine and just forgot to mention a hiatus. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bhim Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 Uh oh, I'm out for a couple months and BAA is gone? I hope he absence is brief. Otherwise I'm going to have to start justifying all the tax dollars you guys put into me by providing timely and informative posts on the latest discoveries in astrophysics. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duderonomy Posted January 7, 2018 Author Share Posted January 7, 2018 3 hours ago, Bhim said: Uh oh, I'm out for a couple months and BAA is gone? I hope he absence is brief. Otherwise I'm going to have to start justifying all the tax dollars you guys put into me by providing timely and informative posts on the latest discoveries in astrophysics. I was gone for a few months somewhere in there. I noticed your absence too when I came back, but it didn't worry me. Somehow I had it in my head that you would only be around now and again. Did you ever say such a thing? If not, maybe it's true what they say about getting older. As for the tax dollars...keep informing and educating us and promoting humanity reaching for the stars, and as far as I'm concerned, it's all good. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disillusioned Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 I'm starting to think he's actually gone. I can't remember him ever being away for this long before. Most of the rest of us drift in and out from time to time, but not BAA. It's a sad day if he's out. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Margee Posted January 8, 2018 Moderator Share Posted January 8, 2018 1 hour ago, disillusioned said: I'm starting to think he's actually gone. I can't remember him ever being away for this long before. Most of the rest of us drift in and out from time to time, but not BAA. It's a sad day if he's out. We have not heard from him either..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator florduh Posted January 8, 2018 Super Moderator Share Posted January 8, 2018 None of us have a clue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duderonomy Posted January 8, 2018 Author Share Posted January 8, 2018 I remember when BAA wasn't around for a short while a couple of years ago. When he came back he explained that it was because of a medical thing. Kidney stones maybe? I think that's what it was. Not to gossip or anything, because he said what it was. He isn't the type to disappear for a while to get attention, and he was/is a real good friend and a big positive to this forum. BAA, like some others here, are a part of my life and have influenced me and the way I think over the years, even in my day to day life offline. He HAS to be ok, and he needs to come back here soon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdelsolray Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 BAA has mentioned many times his adventures at some theist forums, where he posts. Perhaps he could be looked up at one of those sites to see if he's posted there recently. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator buffettphan Posted January 13, 2018 Super Moderator Share Posted January 13, 2018 We have been concerned about BAA for some time now. Last night I received a PM from BAA's partner. Here is the message in its entirety. Let's use this thread as our "memorial tribute" to BAA. And Maureen, if you see this, thank you for letting us know what happened. While our sense of loss cannot be compared to yours, please know how much we cared for and respected Mark. He enriched our lives more than we could ever express. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear members of ExChristian.net, My name is Maureen and I am the partner of Mark, who was known to you as the bornagainatheist. It’s with great sadness that I have to inform you that he died in a car crash at the end of November. The police tell me that he must have died instantly and cannot have suffered in any way. That is some comfort to me. I’m sorry that it’s taken me so long to bring you this news, but these are dark days for me and it’s been very hard for me to come to terms his sudden death. Mark and I were partners, lovers, best friends, companions and soul mates for eighteen happy years and I’m heartbroken and struggling with the pain of his loss. I know that he shared his private e-mail address with some of you and I see that you’re concerned about his absence from the forum. Thank you for your concern, but please don’t send any further messages to this address. Please respect this request and allow me to grieve privately. Mark was very pleased to be a part of your forum and very much enjoyed the cut and thrust of debate in the Lions Den. Over the years he related to me just how much he respected and admired his fellow members. He called many of you good friends. ‘Friends-across-the-miles’ was his favorite way of referring to you. But now I’d like to ask the forum Moderator to please close down his account. Thank you. He was a very organized and logical person, so it’s not surprising that he’d drafted final messages to his family and friends. This one was the last, which was read out at the end of the secular service he prepared. He also left instructions that it be sent it to you, his friends at ExChristian forums. Once again, I’m sorry that I’ve haven’t done this sooner. Thank you. Maureen. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear friends, Thank you for coming together today to celebrate my life and to remember me. As my friends and loved ones, you’ll have known that the stars, the planets and astronomy were a lifelong passion of mine. I deeply appreciated and loved our fascinating and wonderful universe. As my parting gift to you all, I’d like to share a thought about the cosmos. I find this thought to be exquisitely beautiful and I hope you will too. This thought doesn’t concern my consciousness. That brief spark of self-awareness has gone out, never to return. Instead, this thought concerns the ultimate fate of my body. Or more specifically, the atoms that my body is composed of. In this universe all patterns of matter and energy must change over time and my pattern is no different, no exception to that rule. But the changes my unliving body will undergo and the new patterns it may be recycled into are a source of wonder and fascination to me. My atoms will go into the soil of this land. But even when the human race is long dead or departed from this planet, the story will not be over. In the far distant future our Sun will grow and change into a red giant star. Most likely, the Earth will be swallowed up in the Sun’s bloated, outer atmosphere, dissolving and vaporizing in the heat. The atoms that made up my body will become part of this boiling, superheated mix of gases. In a kind of last gasp, the Sun will shed its atmosphere, leaving behind just it’s tiny, blazingly hot core - changing from a red giant into a white dwarf star. It’s possible that my atoms will be absorbed into the Sun and remain there. But if that doesn’t happen, then they will be blown off into interstellar space, along with the rest of the Sun’s gaseous atmosphere. These gases will drift for billions of years through the Milky Way galaxy until they gather into new clouds of star-forming material. Just as our Sun is a second or third generation star, formed from one of these clouds long ago, so new generations of stars will be formed from our dying Sun’s expelled gases. Just as the Earth formed in orbit around the Sun, so new planets will form around these new suns and my atoms may well be incorporated into these new worlds. If the conditions are right, life may arise there and perhaps evolve to become self-aware, just as it did here. I consider this an amazing and exhilarating thought. That the materials of my body have the long-term potential to become part of a new pattern of life and consciousness. So, I do not fear my death in any way. Instead, I welcome it and accept it as part of the natural order of things. Therefore, please do not weep for me. I no longer exist. If you do cry, I hope it’s because you miss me. J.R.R. Tolkien described this sadness of loss and parting very well at the end of his Lord of the Rings trilogy. The hobbits Pippin, Merry and Sam wept because their good friend and companion Gandalf was leaving them forever. However, their tears were not for him, but for themselves. They cried tears of loss because they were losing him, not because he was lost. Here are his last words to them. “Well, here at last, dear friends, on the shores of the Sea comes the end of our fellowship in Middle-earth. Go in peace! I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil.” And now my friends, my last word to you is a fond… farewell. 20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurisaz Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Popular Post Margee Posted January 13, 2018 Moderator Popular Post Share Posted January 13, 2018 On 1/13/2018 at 9:27 AM, buffettphan said: It’s possible that my atoms will be absorbed into the Sun and remain there. And now my friends, my last word to you is a fond… farewell. It is with great sadness to learn of Marks' death this morning..... better known to us as BAA. Today most people refer to the internet and boards like these as if they weren't 'real' life. But the internet and boards like Ex-c are real life for many of us. It is part of our real life. And we get to know people in this internet world. And they become our friends. And it was part of BAAs' real life. For many, many years, people had no choice but to write long letters to each other and those letters were how people stayed in love.... and in touch with each other. Many times (back in my day) you could find a 'penpal' and write for years and never meet them in real life. We may have never met Mark/BAA in RL but he was our friend. BAA has written and left us many letters on this board. He was a relentless teacher and loved helping us understand the cosmos. He has helped me and many others on this board. I am shocked this morning. And I am very sad. I hope his atoms will become part of the sun. That way, he can continue to help us stay warm and comforted like he did in his posts. That's how I am going to try and remember him. Every time I see the sun or feel its warmth, I will take a moment to say, 'Thank you' BAA, for everything you taught me. We will miss you very much in our community. A person that departs from this earth never truly leaves, for they are still alive in our hearts and minds...it is through us that they live on. Please accept my condolences that BAA will not be forgotten. I wish his whole family much comfort and love as they grieve during these difficult days. Rest in Peace my friend. 15 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator florduh Posted January 13, 2018 Super Moderator Share Posted January 13, 2018 This site is diminished by his passing. 6 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigile Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 What?! Damn. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigile Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 I didn't interact with him that much but I find myself now sitting here with tears flowing down my cheeks. So sad. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Margee Posted January 13, 2018 Moderator Share Posted January 13, 2018 41 minutes ago, Vigile said: I didn't interact with him that much but I find myself now sitting here with tears flowing down my cheeks. So sad. You are not alone my friend. (hug) 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yunea Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 Wow... Rest in peace, BAA. 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post sdelsolray Posted January 13, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted January 13, 2018 I am saddened by the news of Mark's (BAA's) death. I'm finding my thoughts and emotions are focused towards a celebration of his character and composition. Mark was an excellent blend of intelligence, knowledge, skepticism, curiosity, determination and compassionate cleverness, among other worthy traits. His participation in this forum was honest and caring and always focused on the purpose of this website. Mark was a stellar human being. He will be missed. 9 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest end3 Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 Well son of a gun. I didn't know this. BAA (Mark), and I argued a lot, but would have still bought him a beer. Sorry to hear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
♦ ficino ♦ Posted January 13, 2018 Share Posted January 13, 2018 I am crying, too. He was always there for anyone who asked anything of him. I don't remember him putting anyone down, much as he would disagree with those who persisted in bad or null arguments. It's beautiful to read his tribute, one coming from someone who so loved our universe (with its flaws and broken pieces?) and people in it. "Friendship dances around the world, bidding us all to awaken to the recognition of happiness. ... if one of them died before his time, the survivors did not lament his death as if it called for pity." ~ Epicurus. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now