Arthur C. Clarke, the prolific science fiction author who co-wrote 2001: A Space Odyssey, passed away today (March 19, 2008) in Sri Lanka at the age of 90.  The son of an English farmer, Clarke received a degree in physics and mathematics from King's College in London giving him a strong scientific base for his imagination.  He imagined such things as communication satellites as early as 1945.  Actually the orbit which keeps a satellite in a fixed position above the earth is named after Clarke.  Although all the imagined details may not happen exactly as he scripted them in his books, his take on the future was always thoughtful.  Want to read a sampling?  Try The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke (Science Fiction) and imagine the possibilities.