What is the Legacy of PF Member Jim Hardy?

[Dr.D]

You can tell Jim was brilliant from this picture of his office when he worked at a nuclear power plant.

View attachment 246292

This reminds me a lot of the house where Jim and Anne lived! Same "arrangement."

 

[lucas_]

Sad to hear of Jim passing. He convinced me that electricity didn't go to the ground (soil) but return to source in the utility transformers (the ground is only used as conductor). Maybe it can be applied to Life as well. Life doesn't go to the ground (6 feet under) but return to Source (of wherever we all came from). Rest in Peace Jim (in the Source or Beyond where someday we are all destined to be).

 

[Charles Link]

Jim was so knowledgeable, and yet so humble. He was our best source for electrical engineering expertise. I will miss him.

 

[cnh1995]

I always wondered about his expertise in so many fields. A wonderful soul I never had the opportunity to meet in person!

Jim's insightful explanations, filled with practical hands-on experience and some funny acecdotes really helped when I was struggling with my studies, and I started loving the topics I was initially afraid of. This was a major confidence-boost for me.
Jim is the reason I kept coming back to PF for several months after joining. I considered him as one of the giant pillars of the EE sub-forum.

I will miss his insightful responses, funny yet informative technical diagrams, witty catch-phrases and his signature!
It is painful to imagine PF without old jim!

Good Bye Sir, you are dearly missed!

 

[Wrichik Basu]

Sad to hear of Jim passing. He convinced me that electricity didn't go to the ground (soil) but return to source in the utility transformers (the ground is only used as conductor). Maybe it can be applied to Life as well. Life doesn't go to the ground (6 feet under) but return to Source (of wherever we all came from). Rest in Peace Jim (in the Source or Beyond where someday we are all destined to be).

Reminds me of Tennyson's poem Crossing the bar:

Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;

For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.

 

[256bits]

Sad news.
Condolences to his loved ones.

 

[jaus tail]

He always helped me with my doubts, even the simplest ones. He was very patient, replied to all my queries, and was a great teacher to me. A motivation for me to keep studying and keep thinking.
Rest In Peace, Sir.
Thank you, Jim, for all the help you gave me.

 

[fog37]

Rest in Peace, Jim Hardy.
Thank you for all your help and patience. My greatest respect to you.

 

[NTL2009]

I was saddened and a bit shocked to read of his passing, since he had posted recently.

Our interests intersected, and he was probably the first poster here whose name stuck with me as someone to listen to and learn from (there have been quite a few more since, this is a great forum). He will be missed.

Beyond his in-depth knowledge of so many areas, what really stood out to me was the effort he put into a post to help someone else out. Some of the posters were way behind, and it would get tedious, but he would persevere, as long as the poster appeared sincere in their desire to learn. I try to emulate that, I mostly do a poor job, but Jim's memory will live on, and hopefully inspire me to maintain a bit more patience with others.

I also had to chuckle about his knowledge of prices and availability of odds and ends at thrift stores or scrap metal and junk yards, sometimes telling a poster something like "you can use the motor out of a cordless drill for that project, you'll find dozens of them for 50 cents at the thrift store!".

RIP, and condolences to friends and family.

 

[Wrichik Basu]

For those (if any) who are not familiar with Jim:
https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/interview-instrument-engineer-jim-hardy/

 

[chwala]

May he rest in peace.

 

[Guineafowl]

For those (if any) who are not familiar with Jim:
https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/interview-instrument-engineer-jim-hardy/

That made me remember another Jim Hardy gem:

“The grid is a machine and when politicians mess with machinery they generally do it harm.”

You can replace “the grid” with many other forms of machinery - a great maxim that gives others pause for thought in a discussion.

 

[Abdullah Almosalami]

What! I can't believe it. Oh my God. I loved his replies to my questions so much and he always seemed humble and genuinely cared about learning and making everyone around him learn. Oh what a loss! That is terrible news!

Rest in peace Jim. :(

 

[marcusl]

He was a true gentleman and a gem. My sincere condolences to the family.

 

[ArcHorizon]

Rest in Peace. Let the Science lie by you in the calm mind of God.
I praise to the lord that you will be accepted as his brain and a helper.

Amen

 

[Ssnow]

Condolence to family and friends.
Ssnow

 

[sysprog]

His wife just passed away recently. I wonder if that contributed. So sad.

R.I.P. Jim.

Aaaaa Old Jim we loved him it hurts yes it's known and proven that a spouse is likely to pass soon after his/her beloved life partner passes -- may Old Jim be commended to all that brought him into being -- he will be sorely missed.

 

[Zahid Iftikhar]

Very sad demise---- What a nice fellow he was. Just saw his snap and was impressed by his great personality. I wish his soul rest in peace. That is the destiny of all of us. Sooner or later we are bound to die. Let,s spend this time in serving the humanity, respecting each other regardless of our race, color, language, geography etc. etc. Sorry death news make me emotional sometimes.

 

[Wrichik Basu]

Very sad demise---- What a nice fellow he was. Just saw his snap and was impressed by his great personality. I wish his soul rest in peace. That is the destiny of all of us. Sooner or later we are bound to die. Let,s spend this time in serving the humanity, respecting each other regardless of our race, color, language, geography etc. etc. Sorry death news make me emotional sometimes.

I support that. We are, before nationality, religion, or anything else, humans. Let us pledge to make sure that humanity doesn't get wiped off from this world.

 

[Muhammad Usman]

It is with profound sadness that I must report that we've learned legendary PF brother @jim hardy passed away earlier this week. Jim was loved by countless members here and was an incredibly positive force for the community and all our outside readers. A genuine man, we always paid close attention to his posts as we knew they were full of Insight. Rest in Peace jim! You will always be remembered here as a legend. PF and our engineering forums will not be the same. His efforts here live on! Please feel free to give your thanks here and share a memory.

He actually helped me in one of my question. So sad that he is passed away

 

[sophiecentaur]

I have only just read about Jim's death. I am shattered. He was such a lovely man; helpful, enthusiastic and very human. PF will not be the same without him.
My heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.

 

[CivilSigma]

No way, this is so sad, he has helped me with numerous posts on here. I hope he rests in peace.

Thank you @Greg Bernhardt for sending condolences on behalf of us here at PF.

 

[fluidistic]

I'm as deeply sadly shocked as everyone else. I remember having read his posts in that thread: https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/okay-to-twist-thermocouple-wires.793193/ which impacted me, and more recently that he was a bit reticient (if I remember well) to transition from Windows to Linux. Too bad I haven't had the chance to meet him in "real life". When a good, full of experience and knowledgeable man passes away, it hurts a lot.

 

[kent davidge]

We had a great email exchange long time ago. Deeply saddened to know of his dead. He was a good guy.

 

[sysprog]

Old Jim faced mortality bravely -- and he kept helping and learning and teaching throughout his days -- he was and is a true exemplar . . .

 

[Natuurfenomeen22]

I have not met Jim Hardy on PF, but by this thread I see he was a great contributor.

My condoleances to his family and friends.

 

[dlgoff]

Here's a little know fact about Jim. He holds a patent; US 7,177,383 B2 (Method and system for safety regulation in nuclear power regulating systems).


Abstract

A system and method for monitoring rod moving coils in nuclear power system. The system ensures that these coils are each functioning properly, and thus prevent movement of the other coils when a dysfunctional coil is detected. The method for accomplishing this monitoring is to provide constant power to all of the coils and to measure the negatively induced EMF from this induction. This level of EMF is then compared to a standard EMF. When the EMF level is below a threshold limit, which may be either preset or calculated from a variety of other variables, a signal is sent to an alarm.

I've attached a pdf file for those interested.

 

[Zahid Iftikhar]

Reminds me of Tennyson's poem Crossing the bar:

Wonderful words to pay homage

 

[Zahid Iftikhar]

Sad to hear of Jim passing. He convinced me that electricity didn't go to the ground (soil) but return to source in the utility transformers (the ground is only used as conductor). Maybe it can be applied to Life as well. Life doesn't go to the ground (6 feet under) but return to Source (of wherever we all came from). Rest in Peace Jim (in the Source or Beyond where someday we are all destined to be).

A scholarly homage paid to a noble spirit

 

[gmax137]

As far as I know, Jim is the only PF'r that I actually knew "in the real world" before meeting him again here on the forums. I spent a few years at "his" plant south of Miami in the late 1980's. What a great guy, so sad when the good ones go.

As several mentioned up above, we should all take the effort to be more giving to others.

 

[fourthindiana]

What a good friend Jim was. Here with his friend Harry restoring an old Goff family violin.

View attachment 246266

Which was jim hardy?

 

[sysprog]

Which was jim hardy?

I think that Jim's the guy on the right (with the hat).

 

[gmax137]

I think that Jim's the guy on the right (with the hat).

That's correct.

 

[fourthindiana]

As far as I know, Jim is the only PF'r that I actually knew "in the real world" before meeting him again here on the forums. I spent a few years at "his" plant south of Miami in the late 1980's. What a great guy, so sad when the good ones go.

As several mentioned up above, we should all take the effort to be more giving to others.

What type of plant did jim hardy have south of Miami in the late 1980s?

So you met jim hardy in the 1980s and you just happened to meet him again here on physics forums? What a coincidence! Small world.

 

[gmax137]

I don't think Jim ever named the nuclear plant he worked at, so I won't either. But there aren't too many to pick from in Florida. I called it "his" plant because of the way he wrote about it. Which is another lesson from Ol' Jim: when you find work you love, stick with it!

So you met jim hardy in the 1980s and you just happened to meet him again here on physics forums? What a coincidence! Small world.

Yes, what a coincidence! I was happily surprised when it finally dawned on me.

 

[Astronuc]

I don't think Jim ever named the nuclear plant he worked at, so I won't either. But there aren't too many to pick from in Florida. I called it "his" plant because of the way he wrote about it.

He did allude to it when he wrote, "We were without offsite power for a week. Diesels ran fine." That was in response to a comment about plant's encounter with Hurricane Andrew.

 

[dlgoff]

Which was jim hardy?

The man on the right.

 

[lightarrow]

Rest in Peace.

--
lightarrow

 

[Borek]

So sad

Despite the fact Jim was way older than me I always thought about Him as "my PF son" (yes, I know it sounds stupid). He came to PF at the time of Fukushima disaster looking for information and initially posted only in one or two related threads. I recognized Him as a "PF soul" and tried - successfully - to drag Him in. I already miss Him

 

[dlgoff]

I recognized Him as a "PF soul" and tried - successfully - to drag Him in.

You had a little behind the scene help.
The first time I meet Jim and Annie, face to face, was when they were returning to Arkansas from, IIRC, North Dakota. From an email conversation with Jim, inviting him to stop by, have dinner, and spend the night before continuing on home, they decided to visit me.

During their visit I learned that time Jim wasn't comfortable with the internet, but after expressing how important I thought it was for him to pass on his knowledge, and with Annie's support, he agreed to give it a try. Annie supported the idea because she believed being an active member of Physics Forums would be helpful in keeping Jim's brain sharp.

True story ...

edit: corrected spelling error

 

[Wrichik Basu]

During their visit I learned that time Jim wasn't comfortable with the internet, but after expressing how important I thought it was for him to pass on his knowledge, and with Anne's support, he agreed to give it a try. Anne supported the idea because she believed being an active member of Physics Forums would be helpful in keeping Jim's brain sharp.

Thanks for gifting us with a gem.

 

[drsenbei]

My condolences to his beloved ones. Rest in peace.

 

[Mark44]

His wife just passed away recently. I wonder if that contributed. So sad.

Wouldn't surprise me at all.

Despite the fact Jim was way older than me I always thought about Him as "my PF son" (yes, I know it sounds stupid).

And he was younger than me, but not by a whole lot...

My wife's son lives in about the same area as Jim (Ozarks in Arkansas), and I had it in the back of my mind that maybe he and I could get together the next time I traveled down that way. Jim and I interacted many times here at PF. I'm really sorry to hear of his passing.

 

[Elemental]

Rest in Peace, Jim Hardy! One of his posts on this forum that convinced me that a shunt-type motorcycle voltage regulator (which basically shorts out the alternator windings when charging current is not needed) does not waste power, as is commonly believed. Saved me the expense of buying a new regulator. His posts were a great resource to me and many others.

 

[Rx7man]

Sorry to hear.. While I haven't been around here much, I do remember his posts and helpfulness... In another unrelated forum there was a similar character who passed away recently as well... Always leaves a bit of a hole.

 

[David J]

It is with profound sadness that I must report that we've learned legendary PF brother @jim hardy passed away earlier this week. Jim was loved by countless members here and was an incredibly positive force for the community and all our outside readers. A genuine man, we always paid close attention to his posts as we knew they were full of Insight. Rest in Peace jim! You will always be remembered here as a legend. PF and our engineering forums will not be the same. His efforts here live on! Please feel free to give your thanks here and share a memory.

Very sorry to hear this

 

[dlgoff]

Here's another little know fact about Jim. He was involved in a wind energy facility; http://www.clearcreekpower.com/

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Has anyone linked to his interview?
https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/interview-instrument-engineer-jim-hardy/

 

[dlgoff]

Has anyone linked to his interview?

He gave an awesome interview; so brilliant.
But he never mentioned his political affiliation ... however he did gave me a hint on his and his wife's first visit. He picked this up on their trip here and handed it to me when he came through the door.

 

[Bystander]

this up on their trip here and handed it to me when he came through the door.

..., 'bout what I'd have expected from him from assorted PMs.