2008 has been a bittersweet year. Turning 40 turned out to be far more fun than it had any right to be - an old friend got married a few days later, so it pretty much turned into a school reunion. Lots of fun.

What did catch me out this year was the death (often untimely) of a great many people who's work I admired. I don't want to get all morbid but they have all influenced me and I wanted to recognise them. If you encounter a name you don't recognise then please check them out. They'll probably make you think or make you smile, and the best one's will do both.

Arthur C. Clarke (science fiction writer), Gary Gygax (game designer), Humphrey Lyttelton (Jazz trumpetor and radio broadcaster), Lance Latham (programmer, horologist and author), John Wheeler (physicist), George Carlin (stand up), Stan Winston (visual effects designer), Erick Wujcik (game designer), Randy Pausch (computer scientist), Ken Campbell (Fortean theatre director), Geoffrey Perkins (radio producer), Levi Stubbs (vocalist), Mitch Mitchell (drummer), Oliver Postgate (animator), Bob Spiers (director)