The short answer is that I'm a guy who likes computers and networks. I also like comics and writing and flying and a bunch of other things that other people on the 'net seem to enjoy. The result is the sprawling metropolis you see before you, conveniently located in high Earth orbit.

The longer answer follows. Danger, possible sleep inducing matter ahead. Do not drive into the smoke.

I was born and grew up in Elmira, New York . Elmira's a small town in upstate New York which I've been told is in the middle of nowhere, but never seemed that way to me. It has the interesting attribute of being close to the World Headquarters of Corning Glass Works and Cornell University, but really having no equivalent center of culture or industry. The result is a rural community from which people can easily reach more cosmopolitan entertainments. It makes an interesting mix.

I grew up there as a geek, but fortunately enough was able to find a lot of outlets that are inaccessible to geeks in other places. There were computers, one of the best comic shops I've had the pleasure of patronizing (Comics for Collectors that began in Ithaca), and the Rocky Horror Picture Show, among other more common small town pursuits.

After graduating from Southside High School in Elmira, I began a cross-country trek that would last almost a decade. The first stop was Washington University in St. Louis where I picked up a B.S. in Computer Science, a spate of fine stories, some excellent friends, and a love of Karate. From there, the home of The Badger called; five years at the University of Wisconsin at Madison brought a Ph.D in CS, a love of Badger Hockey, fond memories of Pat McCurdy (y'know I got to sing at the Terrace (thanks Karen)), a skill at being a barfly, and more good friends.

Graduation from the UW brought me to the west coast. I did research for the University of Southern California at their Information Sciences Institute by day, and fought crime by night. I taught Operating Systems at the graduate and undergraduate level for years. My students have told me they still have scars. I was also the faculty advisor for the USC LUG for a few years (despite never holding a faculty position). Some of the alums of that body still put the SoCal Linux Expo (SCALE) . I'd love to take more credit for that excellent yearly convocation, but mostly I just got out of the way of a set of motivated students.

In 2001 I got my private pilot's license, and bought a 1974 Piper Archer. In 2016 I upgraded to a 1977 Bellanca Super Viking. I haven't really been flying much post-pandemic.

I also changed jobs in 2016 and work for the The Aerospace Corporation . After owning this goofy doamin for years, I'm finally in the Space Business. At least adjacent to it.

So that's where I came from, which is what most people want to know when they ask who you are. Stuff about souls is tough to get to.

If you've actually made it to the bottom of this page you can find me at snorerot13 on instagram asd twitter. More frequently these days I'm on Mastodon at @snorerot13@mstdn.social. I'm on Facebook, too.