I was a draftsman (1969) and designer (1970) while working my way through college. My design and construction of a kiosk motivated the Architectural Department to invite me to be a structural engineer. I delayed my first job at North American as an Aerodynamicist to be a Transportation Systems Engineer for a three-month study. Naturally gravitating to computers, I migrated to the advanced design group where, frustrated with the time to conduct design cycles, I led an effort to interface the departments. I built and lived aboard a sailboat for 4 years during this period.

In 1978 I got married, sold the boat and moved to San Diego to help Convair evaluate, acquire and allocate computing equipment and software for CAD, CAA, CAE, CAPP and CAM. Frustrated with the time it took to justify and acquire equipment at General Dynamics, I worked for Hewlett-Packard for nearly two years as a Product Manager. Failing to motivate its management to embrace CAD/CAM, I returned to General Dynamics, this time working for the Data Systems Division, where I was asked to establish the requirements for a CAD File Control System (FCS) and subsequently lead its development.

Before I could complete that task, I was asked to take-over another, but bigger and more troubled project, the corporate-wide CAD/CAM Database Management System developement effort involving a six-person team at Electric Boat, a six-person team at Fort Worth, a contractor, Computer Corporation of America (CCA) in Boston and a twelve-person staff in San Diego. Both of the six-person teams had quit waiting for the lead team in San Diego to develop the requirements, and were developing applications using the Model 204 relational database management system from CCA independent of San Diego.

Half of the project's $4M budget had been wasted. I completely rearchitected the project to utilize the FCS, and audited CCA to determine what they could contribute near-term. The San Diego team used rapid prototyping to develop an integrated product and task management system entitled Parts And Task Information (PATI) that provided the spatial relationship of assemblies of parts stored in the File Control System, which allowed the Global Access Facility (GAF) developed by CCA to display large assemblies and a complete product as a result of querying PATI, and using the found set to find graphic files in FCS.

After failing to resolve configuration management disagreements between the Convair and Fort Worth divisions, and learning that the project was illegally funded (Dingle Commission), my team demonstrated PATI and GAF to all the divisions. Although all were impressed, none were willing to fund the project independent of corporate, so I cancelled the project, and found work for my staff.

My breath and depth of knowledge of the design and manufacturing process led me to be assigned to the Convair Enterprise Integration Project as its Process Architect. That is where I integrated solid modeling (features, parts and assemblies) with database management (PATI). I made many presentations to IBM, DEC, ComputerVision and Matra Datavision, earned the accolades for my Solid Modeling Brief, and respect of all involved. I cumulated my work in a publication entitled "Enterprise Integration and Management" (EIM).

As General Dynamics downsized, particularly in high-cost San Diego, the Data Systems Division was purchased by Compute Sciences Corporation, which soon laid-off all the the CAD/CAM Department staff. All of the other San Diego operations were subsequently sold, and 4,000 employees lost their homes after depleting savings while hoping for work.

I helped form and contracted to Omnigon in 1991 with some G.D. employees and two of the four people I recommened General Dynamics hire from Development Technologies International, The Netherlands before it was bankrupted by McDonnel Douglas, General Dynamics and other major customers of Dev Tech who, according to the CEO, Kenneth Happel, conspired to withhold payments for work performed by Dev Tech. Omnigon failed in nine months due to fraudulent funding by a Washingtion investment group that lasted only long enough to steal the technology.

I helped a friend get organized and maintain his 9-unit apartment building in exchange for room and board, did maintenance work elsewhere, and tried a number of money-making ideas, including the development of sales and education video animations using MacroMedia Direcor (1992), a 900 service and mouse repair business.

My friend was forced to move to Utah to car for his wife after she developed concer. I moved-in with a girlfriend, and started installing Apple networks and maintaining Apple computers. I subsequently developed web pages, installed servers and became a webmaster for the same client.

When funding for that client was curtailed, I moved-in with my sister, and helped them complete their ranch (grading, drainage, irrigation, apartment construction, landscaping) while developing web-enabled databases and more web sites.

In 1997 I contracted with Omnigon to design a theme park ride system as a means to get funding. After a month I feared Omnigon creditors would take my computer, and returned to my Sister's house.

This amounts to eight years of struggling self-employment.

In 2000 I was asked to hire into Omnigon, where I led a sensor fusion proposal effort, organized an electronics lab, designed and built office dividers with inexpensive construction materials, invented an air conditioning system to replace a $4,000/month unit, did other facility tasks, designed a secure communications hut while Omnigon was hot on networks and high-speed fraud detection. I analyzed genome data when the market shifted to human genome investments. As usual I could not resist improving processes by adapting an asset management system I developed to collect data from remote monitors and notify maintenance and others of tasks and the tools and materials required into a resource management system for Omnigon. I developed many Intranet sites and other database systems for Omingon before it collapsed 9/27/02.

To make ends meet and get medical insurance, I worked for Home Depot for about nine months. I submitted a 25-page list of recommendations, including 13 patentable items that was ignored. I taught myself SolidWorks in hopes of getting back into design, but every job opportunity requires experience.

I wrote a PhD theis on remote robotics for additional income, and in January 2004 was asked to be the VP of Operations for American Astronautics Corporation to build and operate suborbital launch vehicles and space ships for the space tourism business. After a five-week delay, the $19.1 M in funding failed to materialize, marooning me and my wife with my mother in Lancaster, California while our belongings remain in storage in San Marcos (San Diego). I got a patent on a fraud and theft-free financial transaction method and continue web site and database (FileMaker) development activities on Macs.

Process improvement, enterprise integration and the like are my forte, but that was a long time ago. I saw at a trade show circa 1997 the closest thing to my goal for Enterprise Integration: SAP. I should have gotten involved with it then and interfaced it with the product features of solid modeling systems, but did not. I'd like to re-write and publish the EIM, but have to make a living in the mean time.

I can also define requirements, lead projects, do technical writing, systems engineering and design, which is how I organized my resumes. I like the challenge of solving major problems, which is one reason why I've been involved in the political process as a Libertarian.