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About

Original Family Unit

I was born in Corvallis, Oregon on August 14th. Remember that! There will be a test!

My dad was a Music Professor (Piano Performance) at Oregon State University and my mom was a K-12 “regular” teacher and music teacher in the public schools and one heck of a pianist herself ! Nothing “regular” about her!

Gee — Maybe that’s where I got my musical abilities, not to mention my nickname, “Tickler,” meaning “Ivory Tickler” or Piano Player!
Check my Other Career: Music for a little more insight…

You were thinking nasty things, weren’t you? lol…

Actually, I know that any ability I have comes straight from God! But it sure didn’t hurt to grow up in such a musical family!

My Roots

I’m Welsh on my father’s side and Norwegian on my mother’s side. I’m the second generation of both families born in the USA. My dad’s family (Roberts) settled in Iowa. My mom’s family (of Thompson and Andersen roots) settled in Wisconsin.

Duh…

Ever been to Wisconsin? It’s like little Norway! Minnesota is the same… I find it interesting how different nationalities/cultures seem to congregate in particular geographical regions. I think the areas they settle in must remind them of their homeland. Do you feel the same?

I have one brother, Greg, who is 3 1/2 years older and lives in Ft. Worth, Texas. He used to be quite the musician himself, but gave it up for reasons unknown to me. I don’t think it was my fault — heck — he was hanging out with Steve Miller before I got my first big break! Maybe that was the reason! lol…

Kids and Grandkids:

I have been blessed with four wonderful chidren and three grandchildren, with another on the way!

My first two daughters, Melissa and Lindsay, from my 21 year marriage to Julie, are very much into horses! Both are excellent riders in all Western and English events and have so many trophies they won’t all fit in their bedrooms anymore!

Melissa graduated from college and is a Registered Nurse in the Emergency Room at a hospital in Salina, Kansas. I had the honor of walking her down the aisle in August, 2000 — her husband, Ryan, is a real special guy! I feel very fortunate to have such a great son-in-law! They have two children: Breanna and Bryce, who are as cute as cute can be!

Lindsay is married to a wonderful guy also — Michael. They live in Wakeeney, Kansas, where Lindsay graduated from college and is a nurse as well. Question — how did we all end up in healthcare??? Very odd… And why did Melissa and Lindsay move from Oregon to Kansas? LOL… Lindsay and Michael have a beautiful daughter, Allison, and are expecting a new addition in late 2008!

My two youngest children are Austin and Monica. They moved to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in 1997 when Candis and I parted ways. As of September 2006 Austin is 12 and Monica is 11. They are wonderful, extremely bright kids. Austin is into hockey (duh — he IS half Canadian!) and has been playing 6 years now. Monica is into dancing. So is Austin. In fact, they’ve both been taking Ballroom Dance lessons from the Canadian National Champions! They are both into skiing and get to ski every week as part of their school curriculum. Edmonton has a small ski area (complete with night skiing) right in the city limits!

Past Work “Experiences”

I guess you could call me a jack-of-all-trades, master of a few. I’ve always had the luxury of being able to make a pretty decent living doing things I actually enjoy, whether it’s playing music (keyboards, guitar, bass, drums and heck — even singing,) teaching skiing, flying around in very fast airplanes or fixing them and yes, even computer programming.
One of these days I might even figure out what I want to be if and when I grow up!

Current Occupation

Software Developer (mostly Lotus Notes) and Consultant. Currently working for the best of the “Big Four” professional services firms in Cleveland, Ohio. I love it here — both in Ohio and at the firm! We live right on the lake in Chippewa Lake, Ohio, which is about 48 miles southwest of Cleveland so the daily commute is a little long but it’s worth it! I develop mostly web-based applications and I’m currently using a lot of AJAX and DHTML. I love the versatility, usability and speed AJAX brings to web apps!

Last Jobs

Systems Developer for WestCare Health System in the mountains of North Carolina. I develop client/server, web and intranet applications & web sites using Lotus Notes/Domino, Microsoft ASP, Visual Basic, JavaScript, All the “ML’s” including HTML, XHTML, DHTML, XML and some C, C++ and Java.

Before moving to western North Carolina, I was a Computer Programmer/Analyst/Consultant, developing e-Commerce and e-Business web sites, and doing Lotus Notes Application Development, HTML, JavaScript and Visual Basic programming for a large IBM Business Partner in Charlotte, North Carolina. We developed technology solutions for the supermarket and retail industries. My department also developed custom applications for a variety of customers including AMF Bowling, Caterpillar Tractors, Sephora and many others..

Hobbies

• Music — Playing (live and studio) and listening to Christian, Jazz, Country and most other types.
• Horses — love them! Used to raise Paints and Quarter Horses.
• Skiing — Snow and water.
• Photography — I actually used to get paid to take pictures! Aside from that I just love photography!
• Computers — Eek a geek!
• Flying — Flying has always been and will always be a big part of my life!

Educational Background

Starters: Corvallis High School — Corvallis, Oregon. I’ve attended various colleges and universities around the world including, but not limited to, Boise State University, University of Maryland, Park College, Community College of the Air Force and the School of Hard Knocks.

Areas of Expertise

Software Engineering, Lotus Notes programming, Visual Basic, MS Access, Fortran, several assembly languages, Graphics — creating, editing, etc. Web site development with Lotus Notes/Domino, all the “ML’s” and languages listed above, AJAX (Getting there,) Project Management, song writing and producing.

Additionally, I can build, fix and break computers with the best of them! Ever see flames shoot out of a monitor??? lol… Just kidding… But it sounds neat!

Favorite Memory

HHhhmmmmm… I don’t recall… But see below……

Favorite Past Work

I was in the Air Force for 20 years. That took me all over the world and opened my eyes to many things!
One of the highlights was being on the USAF Ski Team in Germany for three years. Tough duty! lol…

Another was working at
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center and Edwards Air Force Base’s
Ridley Mission Control Center during the final data processing of the Approach and Landing flight tests of the Shuttle Enterprise and the first two orbital Space Shuttle missions, STS-1 and STS-2 featuring the Shuttle Columbia (OV-102).
What a humbling experience it was meeting most of the initial cadre of shuttle astronauts, including Young, Crippen, Engle, Truly and even Sally Ride!

I also worked at Ridley Mission Control Center as a systems-level programmer on the Cruise Missile project, additional Space Shuttle flight tests, F-16 and F-15 flight tests and several “others.”

My last 11+ years in the Air Force found me at Mt. Home AFB, Idaho, flight testing the EF-111A Raven — a radar jamming fighter. Click here for some photos! Some of my work there involved developing computer models of Soviet target tracking, early warning and missile guidance radars and the effects of the Raven’s AN/ALQ-99 jamming system on them — deep stuff! I was also in charge of a multi-million dollar Software Quality Assurance effort for the Air Force’s Over-The-Horizon-Backscatter (OTH-B) Radar System which is the largest radar system in the world!

1994 and 1995 found me out on tour as a keyboard player with a Country band out of Nashville, Steve English and the Wranglers. That was a gas! Our first tour leg was playing at the ‘94 Calgary Stampede!

After “retiring” from life as a professional musician, I worked as a sound engineer for Suntrack Sound, Inc. Take a look at the Client list to see a partial list of the people I’ve toured with or did a few shows with.

Travel

Germany, Italy, Sicily, Spain, France, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Canada, Panama, England and a few places I don’t care to mention!

Favorite Place on Earth

Calgary, Alberta, Canada. This place wins hands down!