I was born an Air Force brat in West Palm Beach Florida at 11:56p on Friday the 13th, July 1956. I have lived in a variety of places: Florida,  Georgia, Texas, Japan, Alaska, and now Texas again. I started climbing while in high school at Anchorage, and still consider myself a displaced Alaskan.

I have been  married since 1979 to the same beautiful chick, Maggie. We have one kid, Miss Julie, born in 1994.

I love to travel by car just to see the miles go by - I love the outdoors, rock climbing in particular, but also hiking, boating, biking or anything that can be done without a roof over one's head. I enjoyed skiing before I wrecked my knee at Sierra Blanca in ‘74, and I  still mountain-bike and skate a bit. The doctors rebuilt my knee fairly well, although they had to go back in for some repair in 1996.

I became interested in flying at a young age, and finally started flying Ultralights in the mid-80's, then went on to get my (single-engine land) private pilot license. I have always been a space nut and an insatiable reader. We have over  2000 volumes in the library here at the Aerie above the  El Paso squalor. Science-fiction, science, history and philosophy are the featured selections. I obtained a BsCs in Comp Sci from UTEP in 1985, and have attended grad school on and off. My money comes from my job as mid-level network geek with large local school district. I occasionally paint (slowly but with great detail) in acrylic, mostly space landscapes. I have been an Amateur astronomer since I was a pup, and have several scopes including a big 13" Dobsonian. Mostly, I enjoy binocular  observation out in the middle of nowhere in the southwestern desert. Photography is fun.

I have always believed that an understanding of cosmology and physics is essential - we just have to learn everything there is to know about everything! I have recently started studying complexity theory and Artificial Life, having been turned on to the work of Ilya Prigigone by Cap'n Electron in 1997.

I am quite anti-superstitious. I am saddened that at in 21st century, the majority of the world's populace still believes in ghosts, witches, magic crystals, Aliens, Elvis, Atlantis, the literal Biblical Flood, magnetic healing, homeopathy, etc. I am an atheist, of the “Skeptical Epicurean” variety. This means that I know I must live in a religious world and do my best to get along with The Faithful - but I become vocal when someone tries to "convert me" or tell me that I am somehow evil or "lacking a moral compass". I was raised as a Methodist and then as a Jehovah's Witness, and I often know more about the Bible than does the person lecturing me about my atheism.

Freedom is important to me, as is having a consistent personal philosophy. I guess this comes from my training in science, math and axiomatic systems. My philosophy is pretty much Objectivisim, with some qualifications.

Politics is a source of extreme frustration for me, since Objectivists tend to be in the Libertarian minority. When Libertarians ran for office I used to vote for them, even though I differed with them on some issues. I have, for the most part, lost faith in representative democracy as a viable paradigm for government. I am member of the Fully Informed Jury Association.

Periodically, I refuse to think about, look at , or answer e-mail for weeks.

I am still terribly homesick for Alaska in general, and Anchorage in particular, even after being away from home since 1974...