Okay, so it's kind of boring, no pictures or anything like that, but from my home page you can probably figure me out a bit. I've been alive for a few years (ca 1960), and have lived almost all of that time in the state of Maryland, save a two year stint in Virginia.
I'm married with two wonderful children a nine-year-old daughter (nine going on twenty-nine) and a five year-old son. Most of my spare time is spent fixing up things around the house, working in the garden, playing with the computer, or just plain old goofing off with the kids. Stacy, my daughter has enormous amounts of energy that seems to never drain. Susan (my wife) and I have often tried to figure out ways to harness this energy as it would go a long way to solving the worlds energy crisis. Until recently, we would have said that our son, Sam, was the exact opposite of his sister, but since starting Kindergarten, he too has shown an extraordinary amount of energy. One may think that it's the food that they eat, but Sam is (at best) a picky eater. If he gets one real good meal a day, we are pleased.
Stacy is active in Brownies ( Girl Scouts USA), soccer (Montgomery Soccer Inc.) and swimming ( Montgomery County Swim League). Susan was her assistant or head soccer coach for while, but now that there is a team in the neighborhood, she has become more of a fan (though she still tries to coach from the sidelines. Stacy has really gotten into Brownies, especially since she went on her first camping trip in April of 1999. It's a great orginazation for young girls that teaches them about life and working with others. After swimming all winter, Stacy is ready to take on the world during this summers swim season. Susan and I have really seen the improvement in her ability. As long as she continues to have fun with it, we'll continue to go along. Seems like I'm haveing almost as much fun as Stacy is with swimming. It gives us some daddy/daughter bonding time.
Sam is quite a character, he is at ease playing "Power Rangers" with his friends, or playing a game on the computer by himself. Sam has decided that he wants to try and get swimming ribbons like Stacy has. When this kid puts his mind to something, there is no stopping him. He swam half of the winter, and is looking forward to being on the "Pre-Team" this summer. If he can put together 25 meters of any SINGLE stroke, he can swim in a meet this year. The biggest problem is that he swims 25 meters (10 crawl, 10 breast and 4 doggy paddle), and that does not quite count...but we're working on it! Sam is also playing Tee-Ball this year for UMAC . A group of kids from the neighborhood are all together on the same team.
Then there is my wife, Susan. An all around mommy, coaching soccer, leading Brownie troops, shuttling kids about when I'm away, (and when I'm home), and (most difficult of all) keeping me in line. There is not much that I can say, except that anyone who can put up with me for 12 years has to have something going for her. There is no way that I could be where I am in life today without Susan, she has been behind me all the way (sometimes kicking me in the butt when I need it).
Well, enough about the family, after all this is MY home page, not theirs! Currently I'm employed by the Boeing Company as a software engineer. We subcontract to Lockheed Martin Air Traffic Management, designing and building Air Traffic Control systems. We do work for the FAA in the U.S. as well as systems for other countries. I spent the month of August, 1995 in Taipei, Taiwan working at the Taiwan Area Control Center, and the Terminal Control Centers there. If you want to read more about my experiences in Taiwan, click HERE . Currently I am working on the New EnRoute Centre (NERC) for the United Kingdom, which is located in Swanwick England. Swanwick is along the south coast of England, about half way between Portsmouth and Southampton. I have been lucky enough to make over a dozen trips over to the United Kingdom during the past two and a half years, and have made several good friends over there. With working odd shifts and such, I have been able to tour quite a bit of the south coast, click HERE . Anyhow, all of the work that we do is in Ada, which explains at least one of the links on my home page. It's really a pretty good language once you get into it.
I'm also a Macintosh fanatic that despises His Royal Highness, Sir Bill of Gates. I find it amazing, and appalling, that so many people waste so much money just because Billy Boy says that you should buy his product. These same folks that always ridiculed us Mac users now have ALMOST the same functionality that we've had for years. Well, enough ranting and raving for now... Buy a Mac.
Ah yes, railroading (that little X with two R's next to it on the home page). I've been a railfan all my life. It's in my blood. My grandfather was a conductor on the Pennsylvania Railroad, and my grandmother was a station attendant in Atglen Pa. My wife dosen't understand my fondness for trains, but then again, she dosen't have to. Both of my kids like trains as well, and in the evenings on the way home from daycare, if I'm driving, we usually stop to watch some of the evening commuter runs comming out of Washington D.C. So if you're into railroading, or railfanning, check out my railroading page.
Next comes my ties to Scouting and the Scouting movement. This, like trains, is in my blood. My grandfather was a Scout leader, and my dad was a Boy Scout when he was young. I am an Eagle Scout (awarded in 1978) as well as a Vigil Honor member of the Order of the Arrow. I sat my vigil in 1980 and was given the name Nehillasohen, which means One Who Delivers (I was the cook crew leader). Although I'm not active in Scouting at this time, I still keep abreast of its goings on through Usenet. It's nice to see that the only constant is change.
Music wise, I listen to what most people call "Classic Rock", and that is usually on Arrow 94.7. I have also been known to dabble into "New Age" as well as "Modern Rock". What these terms mean is beyond me but it sounds like what I listen to. Favorite group has to be Pink Floyd. I've got almost every one of their albums (missing a few anthologies). Best ones (IMHO) are Wish You Were Here, Dark Side Of The Moon and Ummagumma (sure miss Syd though).
Oh yeah, one more thing. I'm a big time cartoon junkie. I prefer the classic Warner Brothers shorts, but will watch almost anything if given the chance. I've recently become big fans of Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain. These both remind me of the old cartoons that were on when I was growing up.