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In what once passed for "Real Life," I was a development engineer for a nearby company that made process control instruments and distributed control systems. I did software with emphasis on internal "down-on-the-bare-silicon" stuff for embedded applications. Thanks to a post-acquisition "head count adjustment" in 2002, I am now retired -- and can't say I miss the place all that much!

Even at my post-retirement age I still haven't decided what I want to do after I grow up. So I cover my bases by trying a little bit of everything. I have been dabbling in all sorts of hobbies, some go back fifty or so years, others are relatively recent explorations. (Consider me a "professional dilletante.")

Some of my time goes into being newsletter editor/publisher and webmaster for my local art club, Perkiomen Valley Art Center. Those positions also place me on the board of that organization.

A number of pursuits fall in or near the category of fine art - photography, watercolor, pen & ink drawing and ceramics. Obviously there is an interest in computers, but that no longer holds the position it did when I was employed full time in software engineering. Music has been an ongoing source of fascination and frustration. Some interests are more oriented toward food and the utilitarian - bread baking and gardening as well as woodworking and do-it-yourself home repairs. Art and gardening combine in working with bonsai and bonsai pots are what inspired the exploration of ceramics. A few years back, My Fair Spouse and I took weaving classes for a vacation trip. We did acquire a loom, and there's still some interest but not much has been happening.

In more of a fitness vein, we do a little bicycling and hiking from time to time; nothing major or competitive. We began 2011 with acquisition of a new hybrid bicycle more suited to the local rail trails.

The links along the left side will provide more detail of these various activities.