I've been catching up on the list (which I receive in digest form, so
I tend to read weeks of posts at a time :) The BIOs have been
intriguing, so I'll kick mine in here. I'm only 12 days behind, at
this point, so I hope everyone remembers this thread. Or at least
that some remember.
I was first born a long time ago, in real years. (47.26, for those
who are anal about numbers.) I keep getting reborn each day, usually
in the morning, as I wake up and realise I survived the sleeping part
of the day and must get on with the other part.
My auto experience began when I was about 7, helping my dad rebuild a
1956 Chevy that he had bought used as his daily driver. Purchased at
night, he discovered that the daytime view out the back window was a
huge cloud of blue smoke. I've always been tinkering, usually taking
things apart that I couldn't assemble exactly again, but just often
enough I got it right that I stayed interested. My first "car" was a
1954 Chevy that "a little old lady only drove to church on Sunday"; I
knew the church and the lady, and I know it's the truth. Anyway,
after disassembling that (first mistake) because I was still too young
to drive (by several years!) and getting bored, I sold it to the
crusher (second mistake). After 12 years of education in the Detroit
area Catholic school system, I left for the University of Michigan,
bought a 1969 Spitfire, earned degrees in Electrical and Mechanical
engineering, started work for a small engineering company in Ann
Arbor, married my collegehood sweetheart (still married after 23
years), sold the Spit after about 65000 hard miles (another mistake)
and have been engineering, writing software (some embedded, some
analytical, always technical), raising my 12-year old daughter to be
whatever she will, keeping my English Cocker Spaniel from eating
everything that gets close to his muzzle, sailing (not recently,
though,) serving on the Board of the Dance Arts Performing Ensemble,
(daughter is avid, as I guess I am too!) and doing volunteer theatre
and dance performance tech work. Somewhere along the way I parted
with my first company, and have been doing technical consulting (Unix
system admin, engineering analyses and software) under my own
company's name. I recently acquired another '69 Spit which I am
untangling and re-assembling. I commute about 68 (depending on which
roads are under construction) miles in my Dodge Neon RT (most fun I've
had since my early Spitfire days!) here in Southeast Michigan. I
still live in this area, slowly moving westward. At this rate, I
should be near Chicago by 2065.
Learned a lot with the first Spit; learning more with this one. One
of these days I will make Frankenspit's trailing O real again. (some
PO kept the OD for another project.) FDU51430LO (currently carrying a
948cc Herald motor). Awaiting more time and money. And my daughter
is learning to spin wrenches.
Donald.
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