As a followup, I should point out that Findra had e.mailed the ALAA Committee on October 2, just before his death on the 12th, offering to help promote the Ursa Major Awards at Further Confusion in January. "I don't know what's involved in sponsoring a dance. To the best of my knowledge, that's not been done at FC before. If it's a low-impact presence, then it could just be 'Friday's FC Dance, brought to you by The Ursa Major Awards', for instance. The cost would likely be zero, since FC has supported the UMA before. If we want to do more than that, we could have a table or something outside the dance giving out info. If we're serious about this, I will talk to the Programming people, but I'll need a 'Go ahead' first. It's unlikely I'll be able to commit to manning the table, since I'm on the Exec. Staff for FC, and hence my time will not be my own during the convention, and limited close to it."
This certainly indicates that less than two weeks before his death, he did not have any expectation that he would be unable to participate in FC 2012 in January. So presumably his death was unexpected and sudden, and not due to any preexisting condition.
As a followup, I should point out that Findra had e.mailed the ALAA Committee on October 2, just before his death on the 12th, offering to help promote the Ursa Major Awards at Further Confusion in January. "I don't know what's involved in sponsoring a dance. To the best of my knowledge, that's not been done at FC before. If it's a low-impact presence, then it could just be 'Friday's FC Dance, brought to you by The Ursa Major Awards', for instance. The cost would likely be zero, since FC has supported the UMA before. If we want to do more than that, we could have a table or something outside the dance giving out info. If we're serious about this, I will talk to the Programming people, but I'll need a 'Go ahead' first. It's unlikely I'll be able to commit to manning the table, since I'm on the Exec. Staff for FC, and hence my time will not be my own during the convention, and limited close to it."
This certainly indicates that less than two weeks before his death, he did not have any expectation that he would be unable to participate in FC 2012 in January. So presumably his death was unexpected and sudden, and not due to any preexisting condition.
Fred Patten