Under the Influence of Books

Our original and free home on the Internet may be disappearing soon (2009), so I'll try to move that site to this server for historical enjoyment. I originally created the main page using what used to be the free HTML editor provided by HotMail before it was purchased by Microsoft, but I eventually switched to editing the raw HTML code because it gives me greater control over the pages. Of course, don't confuse our virtual home with our home in the real world on seven acres of wooded wonderland! The house was built in 2007 and we moved in just before Christmas that year. The house is all electric, and we have plans to use wind and solar energy to power the house in the future--it's an exciting proposition. More details on the house can be found at the link in the menu on the left.

Here is a desk that I inhabited while in Moscow and here is my current desk at work.

I've been to several other places in the world (some more exotic than others), but one of my favorites was Johnston Island (part of Johnston Atoll), about 800 miles southwest of Hawaii. The water really is blue, the temperatures were usually around 95 degrees every day, and the 20-30 mph regular breeze kept things fairly comfortable. Johnston Island even boasts a 9-hole golf course. It takes about 30 minutes for a round. The holes are all par-3, and they range in length from 75 yards to 129 yards. I developed a fairly good short game during my 7 weeks on the island.

Our main Sneetches home page will soon become our family's primary page, but for now, it's a simple page of links.

I am not currently considering employment opportunities , but if you're interested in who I am and what I have done with my life, my professional career is condensed into a 3-page Resume and Curriculum Vitae (last updated: April, 2006--Really, I'm not looking! I had to update these for CS428).

I used to compile a list of what I did (an 'I love me' file) for my supervisor each year while I was in the Air Force to provide information for my Annual Performance Report (APR, later the name was changed to Enlisted Performance Report, or EPR). During my first few years in the Air Force, it was difficult to fill up all of the white space with meaningful content to satisfy all of the parts of the report--leadership, education, community service, professionalism, etc. During my second assignment (I was stationed at NSA...ooooh, shhhh!) the challenge turned from finding enough stuff to fill the white spaces to finding creative ways to pack in all of what I have been doing into the spaces available. Each year's report reminded me of what I have been doing and what I should be doing. Now that I'm retired (but working), I don't summarize my year's activities and I think I should. Not so much to brag to the world, but to remind myself that I am still very, very busy and involved, and also that I'm very, very busy and involved in some worthwhile activities. As time permits, I'll update my list of stuff that I do for reference.

Uncategorized Links

A Love Letter that I wrote for English 105 as a graduating senior at Iowa State University in 1997. The class was very enjoyable, but the instructor was rather worried that I would be bored out of my skull (I had already completed Advanced Composition and a foreign language course in English to demonstrate continued proficiecy in English, and I had several years of foreign language experience). I assured her that I would be fine. I really did enjoy the class and I learned some very interesting writing tips (one that I exercised in the Love Letter--can you spot it?).

The Deal that I made with Melanie when I proposed was one of the best things we ever did, and it makes for such an interesting discussion that I thought I should share it with others so that they can benefit as well. It helped us in our long-term planning.

Association for Computing Machinery Code of Ethics.

Dancing badly with Matt (I'm in the 2008 video).

WLBK Interview with Scott Armstrong in November, 2008 (Technology at Kishwaukee College).

Grid access for all!

Open-source computer animated movie "Big Buck Bunny" - developed as open source using grid systems.

Daily leadership and management tips.

Express your mood with your shirts!