Three point bio

* I studied Atmospheric Sciences at UCLA. Theoretically useful for the first half of my career (see below). I suspect it helps me think about complex systems such as communities, but that might be self-justification for my wasted youth. * Teachers and my parents told me I should be a writer. I wanted to be in the Air Force, which is why I picked my major. (My dad and two of my younger brothers are Air Force veterans.) After my first year at college I decided I was going to be a computer programmer. * I was a computer programmer at the National Weather Service and then at JPL in Pasadena. My work never required me to know all the stuff I learned about atmospheric models, however. Great job for many years, but I started to get bored. Turns out I like writing for people, not computers. (So imagine my distress with AI!) (This was my answer to a question on The Community Community.)