He's a human being with a brilliant mind but like everybody else, subject to all of the fine points and foibles, graciousness and pettiness, vanity and dignity, strengths and weaknesses of all of us.
He has accomplished a lot in life and probably has forgotten more about hand loading and ballistics than many of us will ever know, but he also takes great pride in pointing out to the rest of us (always obliquely, never directly) how brightly his halo is polished and how it glows at maximum wattage, even as he behaves like any other human being. I think that is what attracts a lot of his detractors, using and even subtly encouraging others to curse his enemies in his name while he stands by innocent of all wrong doing. He is also the best judo arguer I've ever seen - you push, he pulls, you pull, he pushes. If you attack him, he becomes overly gracious and offers overtures of peace. If you're gracious, he subtly attacks you.
As a truly world class wordsmith he can cuss out and berate someone as viciously as any troll, but his actual words allow him to maintain a plausible deniability. His anger and denigration shine though exactly as he meant them to but he can point at the exact words he used and with hands folded innocently and eyes cast heavenward deny that was his intent. He plays to his own self image of being a saint as well as anyone ever has. I really wish I could write as skillfully as he can. He has a great vocabulary, that's for sure, I learned some good new words from reading his posts.
He has a huge ego but will deny it and takes great umbrage if accused of it, but without that ego he probably would not have achieved his advanced degrees or lassoed grizzly bears or done any of a hundred things that most of us never will.
It doesn't help to romanticize anyone nor unduly attack them while ignoring their good points. I hope I am not guilty of the latter here. Like most, I hope he is doing well.
Sportscenter Version = Pretentious Prick.
Dave
