My story begins on a cold Christmas Eve in northwestern Ohio, within a decade of Roswell, New Mexico making sensational news.

A small child walks out on a concrete porch, hoping to see Santa streaking across the sky. After a single glimpse of the sparkling, shimmering night, Santa was forgotten. The wonder and awe of that view inspired a lifetime curiosity of science in general and Astronomy specifically.

As I grew, my curiosity was responsible for joining the Boy Scouts, where I strived to earn every possible merit badge dealing with science. Meteorology and Astronomy were my favorites. Around the age of 11, I saw my first "UFO" (which turned out to be a satellite), and gave me reason to consider the likelihood of life elsewhere in the universe.

After high school, I discovered computers in college. After first pursuing that interest via Viet Nam-era electronics in the military, I decided to work for the company that made the computer I learned programming on in school. After a period of study, I moved to Texas, where I went to work for that company to live on the bleeding edge of Information Technology. 12 years later I was laid off just before the company was bought out. After a couple year's hiatus, I moved to Florida where spent 5 years being of service to my parents, in the last years of their life. The year 2000 saw them pass on, followed by the death of my best friend, and a cat who owned me for the previous 19 years. It also saw the end of my career in programming, when the company I was working for downsized.

I now live in West Central Florida, where I've all but given up looking for work. I am disabled and draw a small pension from the VA (having served in the United States Air Force.)