Technical Resume
Thoughts On Technology
Favorite books
Thoughts On Life
Thoughts On Backgammon
The Full Rant
Linnet's Wings
07/02 Penobscot Bay Sailing Trip

Proud to be an American!

I received my B.S. in Physics from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois in 1972, and have been living on the East Coast ever since. I love it out here. I was fortunate to have lived on the water off Pomeroy Cove on the Piscataqua River in Dover, NH for many years. Though New England Nor'easters are an awesome event, it seems that the worse the weather gets the better I like it. That whole New England seafaring mystique bit me long, long ago. I remember my first brush with that feeling in the movie Moby Dick as Ishmael struggled up the cobble stone path against a hard wind driven rain. Great stuff! The stuff to make a young kid yearn for far away places. Though not living directly on the water now, I am close enough that I can still fill my nostrils with the salt air and hear the lonely cry of sea gulls. I really enjoy New England; it's in my blood.

Anyway, welcome to my life- such as it is! Now, I have to admit to a certain amount of lightheartedness in developing all of the pages on this site, which- by the way- has its root at my family home page. Some form quite practical purposes while others... well, let's just say this is all great fun and leave it at that. I really enjoy what I do, and I take great delight in squeezing everyone elses toes about it. Again, welcome to my life. Thanks for passing through.

As I mentioned, I have always been attracted to the sea and enjoyed sailing. On Christmas of 2000, I was able to purchase a 1975 23' South Coast Alberg sloop, Linnet's Wings. At 51 years of age, I was more than ready to trade up from my open 18' O'Day daysailor that I had bought in the mid '80's. Having a boat this size had been a dream of mine since I started sailing with my dad in Chicago, Illinois when I was around 10. Though we had a 12' Penguin class racing dingy, I always fancied myself at the helm of a boat large enough to venture safely outside the harbor breakwater. The illusion had become reality- it just took awhile! Unfortunately, after moving off the water and becoming way too busy with other things, I had to sell Linnet's Wings in the summer of 2006.

Though I am in what is a fairly intense and stress filled job in an industry known for measuring time in "internet time" of 3 for every 1 unit of "normal" time, I try to keep a perspective on things and not let life carry me away. I work for a living, but I do not live to work. I work hard, but I also play hard- and more importantly: I make the time to play; to make sure that my life is always fresh. I do this through a variety of interests: martial arts, programming, sailing, reading, business, backgammon, history, philosophy, psychology, meditation, and science.

Here's a picture of us on vacation to Universal Studios in Feburary of 2003. What a great experience these trips have been to share with Colin and Marissa. And after a long day of hiking around to all the sites, I park myself in a fold out lounge chair by the pool and read while the kids swim. The biggest decision I have to make is where we will go to eat that night. Life is grand!

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But times change, and sometimes so do the players in the game. I'm now settled into a beautiful 3 bedroom condo in Dover, enjoying my work as a web business applications software developer, and just generally trying not to take things too seriously.

And so that's all about me. I enjoy writing - can you tell - and so I chronical activities in my life on my family home page. I do this more for myself than for a reader's entertainment. I've got nothing to sell and no one I care to try to impress. It's just nice to be able to go back over stuff as a check to make sure I'm not pissing my life away doing nothing or by having a negative attitude.

If I see I'm not logging intereting events on my home page, then the assumption is that I'm slipping off the path. The writing acts as a confirmation that I am active and doing something to not only make my life better, but - hopefully - positively affecting others who come in contact with me in some small way. I'm fortunate that I can do that, and I have a responsitility to do it. So, I have to keep myself active, happy, healthy, and feeling terrific and calm.