WB6KDH

The Short Version (read on for a less "powerpoint"y one)

Retired* engineer:

Software Design & Dev for: embedded, UNIX, Windows, machine lang, Pascal (dating myself again), HP BASIC, C, C++. Keeping up with technologies, but not much actual development since retirement '03.

Hardware too - mostly digital - discrete to FPGAs, misc. dodads, even DRAM design (for 6800 MITS Altair 680b bought new. Yes. I'm getting old.) Mostly, I know my way around the lab! Love using all the blinken & flashen equipment.

HAM Amateur Extra: Equip: ICOM 756 ProIII, Yaesu VX-5r, 75-10M Vertical. Have a nice key. Need to refresh (re: relearn) CW.

Licensed Pilot - Commercial Instrument Single Engine Land & Glider, plus (600+ hours?) competition aerobatics in our 7KCAB & 8KCAB. Also owned a Mooney M20E. Lots of different makes and models flown via friends or rentals.

Apple Power User, Apple Seed Beta Tester, Macs, iStuff, Watch

PC's - haven't used newer OSs since Win 7. Still running Win2k VM for HAM logging, HP Win2k for WX server.

R/C modeler

Hi-Powered Rocketry - Level 2 rating

(*briefly, starting before 2003, I developed a disability that limits my endurance, especially standing and walking, but I can "rev up" for short bursts (even working the overnight Field Day operator stints)

More prosaic version:

I'm a Com Inst rated pilot with 1200 hrs. COM INST SEL & Glider. We've owned Grumman T-Cat, Citabria KCAB aerobatic rated, then (prob fav) a Super Decathlon 8KCAB (much more capable aerobatic plane). I've also logged time in an eclectic list of planes ranging from custom unlimited monoplanes to Beech Staggerwing, to a handful of Pipers, Cessnas, and Grumanns. Wife and I both earned our IAC aerobatic competition patches "with stars" in all levels through Intermediate. Next earned COM in our '67 Mooney M20E before getting out of the aircraft ownership business. Finally earned my COM INST in a C-182. Haven't done much since about 1998, then certain medical issues hit and between that and the cost, haven't resumed operation. Such as it is these days.

Apple power user of: Macs from 1984 to 15" Retina MBP 768GB SSD 16GB RAM, from Newton to iPods to iPhone 5s, 128GB Wifi iPad Air; 42mm Space Black Stainless Steel Apple Watch w/ Space Black Link Bracelet

Still have working Mac SEs, IIsi/ci, G3/G4 servers, Titanium PowerBooks, and many more. They run OSs from Mac OS 3.8-9, and all of the versions of OS-X.

Most of my early s/w engineering career was spent on low-level ASM, even implementing a small RTOS in Z8000 ASM (program storage in banks of 32KB (yes K)). Pascal, Ada, 'C', 'C++', MFC (CPP), HB BASIC, and other bits and pieces. Though I've kept up with Apple's tech (especially the last several WWDC lectures), I still haven't jumped in with both feet. As an aside, though mostly a Sr. s/w engineer, I never been too far from a 'scope at a minimum, logic analyzer – better, plus a variety of GHz spectrum analyzer, signal generator, and the like. Many times acting h/w support during s/w integration for other colleagues.

Oh, and I had built and still own a working MITS Altair 680b 6800 based computer. Circa 1976. Designed and built a parallel port for testing Data Products line printers and did same for a 32KB DRAM. All nicely wire wrapped. Bought VTL (Very Tiny Basic - fit in 3/4KB of UVEEPROM) for it, but after the memory expansion was able to tape load a nice relatively full featured BASIC (wish I could remember their name. It was 1981, I think.

Also an avid and sometime semi-pro photographer (actually sold a few!). Latest upgrade was to a Canon 70d. Have the modest lens and accessory collection to go along with.

I keep up with the tech news (mostly Mac related, but anything tech will get me reading – Astronomy (have small Schmidt/Casse telescope), space flight (go SpaceX!), physics, electronics, fab, microarchecture, those sorts of things.

I've also daubbled in high-power rocketry. Though out of date, I held a Level II license. My last 'j' engine flight hit several hundred MPH and over 4,000', iirc.