Bio
Long before I gave up my childhood dreams of becoming an astronaut, I had already developed several lifelong passions. Anyone walking into my office can guess two of them and anyone at this site can probably guess two as well (there’s a bit of overlap). Since we’re not here to discuss my three-a-week book habit, the two we’ll deal with here are art, and computers.
Amazingly enough, my first twelve years of gainful, “responsible” employment involved the two in only the most peripheral ways.
My first exposure to computers involved a TRS-80, that little thing from Radio Shack that geeks often referred to as the “Trash-80″. Not long after my parents bought a used Apple ][+ which had been somewhat modified. In theory it could do things that would not show up until the Apple ][e came out later, but with some finagling on my part the upgrades worked. Along with the computer I mastered the control of modems and writing programs to print graphics through our Epson wide-carriage printer. I also spent time hacking around on my friends' computers which included Ataris, Commodore 64's and later, Amigas.
I attended George Mason University where I studied electronics engineering and also spent some time on the college VAX mainframe taking programming classes. Years later I was surprised to discover that the inter-college network I had taken for granted had grown up to be a big deal, when the "World Wide Web" entered the mainstream consciousness. Going into college I bought my first computer, a Macintosh SE. Five years later it was replaced by a more modern Mac, and since then I'd always had at least one around. I would also help troubleshoot Windows and DOS issues on my friends' computers.
In the Navy I developed grading matrixes and exam databases while running the nuclear propulsion training program as a "nuke" mechanic on the USS Maryland. I also helped fix incidental computer issues around the boat.
Artwise, I'd been doodling since at least first grade. Some of the earliest drawings I remember were trying to draw X-wings and TIE fighters (including using a toy X-wing as a reference).
Over the years since, I've continued to doodle, often to the detriment of homework and paying attention in school. At first I just wanted to do as well as the illustrations I saw in and on various books and game rules (mostly SF&F) and the comic books which were a major inspiration. Later, I got hooked on Japanese "Anime", at first copying the style and later incorporating it into my own.
My major media were pencil and pen, the two things most often at hand in a classroom, and easiest to cart around elsewhere. This was nowhere more true than my sub years, where paints were just far too messy when considering the prospect of a sudden change in angle, or the chaos of unscheduled drills and real fires, floods and other messes.
My first copy of Photoshop ushered in a new era, and brought two of my passions together. I dove in headirst and started learning the basics of cutting, cropping, layers, applying filters, and creating new images using this versatile tool. With the addition of a graphics tablet I began to draw directly into the computer, though even now most things are sketched in pencil and finished in the computer. I also started to truly work in colors, since I finally had a medium that wouldn't run on me. I was bedazzled.
Buying a copy of Lightwave 3D so that I could create three-dimensional models was just icing on the cake.
For several years, my computer tinkering was firmly wedded to my graphics tinkering, and both were a welcome distraction from my "real" life operating nuclear reactors.
It was time for a change. After twelve years as a steam plant mechanic I still felt more comfortable disassembling electronics than tearing apart pumps and valves. I invested as much time as I could working in Quality Assurance roles, or better yet, as an instructor. The QA helped make sure everything that kept the sub from sinking, and more importantly, that allowed it to come back up worked right. The roles of Training Manager and instructor involved not only hands-on training on the construction, operation and care of nuclear power plants (for those who do not wish to be a walking nightlight), but organizing training schedules, writing, grading, and evaluating exams, and evaluating the program as a whole. For keeping my sanity, it was all well and good and the experiences were invaluable, but the itch to get back to working on computers was becoming overwhelming, despite the occasional fix I got in setting up new gear or helping friends with their computers.
I left the Navy and slipped into a position as an all-around computer technician doing troubleshooting and administration on workstations, servers, and networks. I also started doing graphic design for some of the clients I acquired that way, as well as some web design, including database-driven dynamic web sites.
And that is what I still do.
