Background

For anyone who might  wonder about my background, here is some rather mundane personal information: 

• Born: 1952

• Citizen: USA

• Grew up in Evanston, Illinois.

• Have lived in Oregon and Illinois, with brief stints in the UK, Arizona, California, and  Massachusetts.

• Attended Northwester University (BS in Engineering, MS in Computer Science) and the University of Illinois (graduate program - Artificial Intelligence research).

• One of my regrets is that I managed to avoid any real English literature or history when I was an undergraduate.

• I am a machine vision engineer with ATS Systems in Corvallis, Oregon.

• I was divorced in 1995 and am currently engaged to be married in July 2008. 

• I have two wonderful daughters, aged 12 and 15, who occasionally spend time with me.

• Although I enjoy the company of others and have a sense of humor, I tend to be quiet and reserved.

• I am a genuine Anglophile.

• I am not fond of watching most sports, and do not consider myself to be especially athletic. Working out at a gym is not my idea of excitement, although I do tend to lead an active life.

• I rarely drink and have never been interested in smoking or drugs of any kind.

• I tend to vote conservatively, although I do not believe that there is always one simple solution to all of the problems of the world. In life there will be rare moments when the "wrong" approach happens to produce better results than the "right" approach.

• I attend church on Sunday (when I do not oversleep!)   Whether or not a God does exist, I believe that Christianity delivers a very positive message and is an important component of our history and heritage.