Please tell us a little bit about yourself.
I'm your basic Renaissance Man: Army Officer, Mechanical Engineer, Metallurgist, Computer Programmer, Operations Manager, Consultant, Teacher, Watercolor Artist, Cross Country Skier, Mountain Climber, Seaplane Pilot, Cyclist, Historian, Book Collector, Singer, Husband, and Father. I've traveled throughout Asia, Europe and North America, and my all time favorite place is Zion National Park
How long have you been a flight simmer and what attracted you to it in the first place?
My first flight sim was Falcon on the Atari ST over 20 years ago. Moving on to the PC generation it was probably Janes WWII Fighters that I got into the most. I had a great deal of frustration with the situational awareness with those early sims (constantly being destroyed by some invisible foe) and never got all that involved with playing.
My serious involvement with the simulation genre started more recently with tanks (Panzer Elite and SB Pro PE), and I found that a much more natural outlet for my talents. I was big into the history, and my ability to texture the vehicles and do other modding developed pretty quickly. The situational awareness issue was actually pretty close to reality (almost none in a buttoned up tank) so I didn't find it quite so annoying.
Then a couple of years ago because of my access to the AF Museum I volunteered to do some texture work for ArgonV in his WWI conversion of FS:SDOE. The modding held my interest in flight sims long enough for me to buy a Track IR and wow what a difference. I could actually enjoy flying now, and from there it was on to BOB2, FSX, Strike Fighters, IL2, CFS3, LOMAC/FC2, and a TripleHead2Go set up.
Do you have any animal companions?
Pets have been a constant part of the household ever since we got married. Cats, dogs, fish, birds, snakes, and various small animals. If I could clear them all out but one I'd probably keep a cat.
If someone was to give you one gift, money is no object, what would you want to receive?
I grew up wanting to be an astronaut, so how about a trip into space.
What are you most proud of?
My life's experiences. I recognize that I've seen and done more than most people would ever even get the chance to attempt, and for that I'm grateful.
If you could be a cartoon character, who would you want to be? Why?
I grew up on the Flash, and I think the ability to move quickly from one problem to the next is fitting.
If you had to pick one place in your town to bring a tourist, where would you go?
Here in Dayton, the easy answer is the AF Museum. It is absolutely first class.
What are some of your family's traditions?
I'd say it's pretty typical stuff like getting together for turkey at Thanksgiving.
What is your greatest strength?
I can see patterns and relationships that most others miss, or don't see until the situation has become more fully developed.
Who is the one person that helped to make you who you are today?
I'd have to say my second grade teacher who was a specialist in reading. Most of the rest of my life was built on that skill.
With the World Cup upon us, tell us why you think the game of football (soccer) has not been able to catch on in the United States as it is in other countries? And why typically, most Americans find it a sport deemed for the un-athletic? (This is the question that MOTW #6 wanted to be asked to the next MOTW. )
Soccer suffers from being late to the market here in the US. It is making some headway, but until we experience some real success at something like the World Cup there will never be much commercial interest. The fiasco of the bad call the other day only confirms in most Americans minds that it's not worth their interest.
I've never heard it described as being un-athletic so that's hard for me to comment on. I'd sooner think that most people find it too demanding for them to play for fun like they can baseball, or basketball.
What question do you want to be asked to the next MOTW?
Of all the places you've been, which one was the most different from what you expected?
you are a man of many hats. i like that. seems today there is less and less of that. good for you, i say. i dug the flash when i was a kid, too. he was one of the coolest of superheroes, especially because he was old school
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