Andy will be missed for many reasons. Like most of you, I never met him in person, but we had lots of exchanges - first when he launched his Bulletin Board and then as he developed his web page. I've often wondered about his background. Obviously, he had a long history with beekeeping - but where did the computer/information technology come from? I know he started out using UNIX as an operating system - not an easy course to pursue. Then he jumped to Windows for his web page - again not the easy route. Perhaps someone who knew him better could provide us with a bio. He definitely had strong opinions and didn't much like big government, nor many of the large research labs. He constantly challenged those of us in the research arena to provide answers to the tough problems. He and I disagreed over many things - but with a difference. We respected each other's knowledge and opinions - even when we were both sure the other was wrong. Never any name calling - at least not in a mean-spirited way. Actually, he was very supportive of our efforts to put bees on-line and to enable beekeepers to participate in our work. He tracked our observation hive, following its flight activity, pollen-gathering, and overall performance. I remember a message from him asking if we were in a pollen dearth, and that it looked like El Nino was affecting us too. It was a great "proof of the concept" that a beekeeper in California named Andy could "read" our hive as if he were standing in front of it. Great fun! I for one am going to miss his wit, his opinions, and his jabs. We seldom get the chance to debate fundamental issues with anyone, and Andy was alway s up for a lively discussion. It was great fun to get him to cede a point. And he won the point from us on many occassions. He will be missed as one of beekeeping's true innovators and one of the beekeeping industry's leading advocates. Our e-mail will certainly be less interesting and rather dull by comparison. I'll miss his posts. Cheers Jerry J. Bromenshenk, Ph.D. Director, DOE/EPSCoR & Montana Organization for Research in Energy The University of Montana-Missoula Missoula, MT 59812-1002 E-Mail: [log in to unmask] Tel: 406-243-5648 Fax: 406-243-4184 http://www.umt.edu/biology/more http://www.umt.edu/biology/bees