.. I was born and raised in Spokane, WA . I did lots of flailing around until I joined the US Navy in 1988. I spent seven years in the Navy where I worked on the Close in Weapons System (CIWS) (see the video below), the US Navy's last chance weapon against missile attacks. While in the Navy, I was stationed aboard the USS Cushing (DD 985) . Thanks to my time aboard the USS Cushing, I was able to visit places like; Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and the Phillipines.
After leaving the Navy, I went to college at the University of Washington where I studied Electrical Engineering...Go Huskies! I graduated in December of 2000 with my bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering. I was going to be a power engineer but right before I graduated, ENRON happened and the power industry took a big hit. Lucky for me I went to college after getting out of the Navy and as such, the Department of the Navy was very happy to once again hire me. However this time I got to be a civilian.
I was hired to work for Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (PSNS). Puget Sound Naval Shipyard is part of the Bremerton Naval Base in Bremerton, WA . My job while working for PSNS was similar to that of a general contractor. I controlled the work and testing being done for Naval Vessels that came in for repairs and upgrades. Among the ships that I worked on were; the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), the USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74), the USS Nimitz (CVN-68), the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), the USS Alaska (SSBN-732), and the USS Asheville (SSN-758). Of all the ships, the USS Asheville had the best slogan: EVIL IS OUR MIDDLE NAME, although the city of Asheville, NC, didn't like it very much and asked them to stop selling things with that slogan. Working on these boats required me to work very long hours (often 10+ hours per day, six days a week). So, when I got an offer that gave me a larger base salary and little to no overtime, I took it.
That's how I came to work for the public works department at the Bremerton Naval Base, part of Naval Base Kitsap . I worked for them for just a little over a year. While I was there, I found they didn't have enough work to keep me busy and challenged. So, I started to keep my eye out for a new opportunity. Eventually, I found it.
Now, I work for Tacoma Power . I work for their Power Management division and I am really enjoying challenge. I very much enjoy the people with whom I work and I expect I will be happy here for many years. One of my main projects is the tidal power project . We are looking into the possibility of generating power using the tidal currents that flow through the Tacoma Narrows. Below is a picture of the Tacoma Narrows and the new bridge being constructed across it. This photo was taken on May 7, 2007 and a rough measurement of the currents had them flowing at 3.8 knots. Over the summer, we hope to get better measurements and in the future, Tacoma may be one of the first cities in the United States to make use of tidal currents for electricity. This would be a 100% renewable, non-greenhouse gas emitting form of electical power generation.
As for my home town, currently, I live in Federal Way, WA . It is a great town south of Seattle. It is one of the most ethnically diverse places I have ever lived. It is not uncommont to go to the local store and hear four or more languages being spoken. In fact, from my own backyard, it is not uncommon for me to hear both Spanish and Russian being spoken by my neighbors. Within one mile of my house I can go to a Russian deli, a greek resteraunt a chinese resteraunt and a mexican resteraunt. There is also a Korean gentleman who opened the best hamburger place around.
I am 42 years old and married. In our household you will find; our two dogs Moose (if you meet him you will understand the name)and Ajax ; our two cats Top Cat and Tuxedo and our Gold Capped Counure, Phoenix. Yes, we have a varitable Menagerie.
Ajax is the latest addition and is just a puppy. We adopted him nine months after we adopted his brother Moose. As with Moose, we are trying to use the techniques developed by Cesar Millan . If you haven't seen his show The Dog Whisperer on The National Geographic Channel and you are a dog owner, I would highly recommend it. The one thing that I don't think Cesar can correct is Moose's blue collar habits. I would swear he is trying to become the butt of a stand-up comic's routine. Every time he eats and/or drinks, he returns to the room in which my wife and I are sitting, sits down in front of one of us and belches...LOUDLY! If he's not belching, he's farting (also loudly). At other times, he comes up to you, puts his head in your lap, coughs and sprays partially chewed dog food in your lap. He's just gross. Next, I expect him to start dragging his butt across the floor every time we have company over, leaving brown streaks on the carpet. That said, Moose is incredibly intelligent. Once we learned that he should have come with a sign that read, "will work for food," training be came a breeze. He learned to "lay down" in about three minutes. He learned to "speak" in one minute. Now if we could just teach him to focus. He gets so zeroed in on the treat he is going to get that he starts to run through all his tricks one after the other in hopes that he does the right one and gets his treat. So, the current lesson we are working on is "focus."
Ajax is another story. He was born on March 15, 2007 and came home with us on Cinco de Mayo. He is totally adorable and too cute for words. Therefore I must direct you to his picture below so that you can have one of those "AWWWW" moments. His father was from Langley, BC and his mom lives in Ravensdale, WA. He is going to be a very big boy when he is full grown. He also seems to be very smart. We had him just two days before he learned he should ask to go outside and go potty. He's not perfect but what do you expect at 7 1/2 weeks old?
The next two newest members of the family are Top Cat (aka Topper) and Tuxedo (aka Tux). Topper and Tux were adopted from the King County Animal Control office. They are brothers who are practically identical twins. Their major difference is that Topper has white on the left side of his nose and weighs about two pounds more than his brother. He also has a black dot on the white stocking part of his back, right leg. He is also the more daring of the two. When Moose came to live with us, he was the first to get used to the idea. In fact, now he even plays with Moose; albeit from the kitchen table with Moose on the floor. As for Tux, he has white on the right side of his nose. He is generally more timid and his favorite time is after I get up in the morning. It is at this time that he gets on the bed and snuggles up next to my wife. My wife refers to this as their private time. Currently, he has lost nearly all of his trepidation towards Moose. He now stands under the dog's tummy while it eats, looking out the sliding glass door into the back yard. Who'd a thunk?
The final member of the menagerie is Phoenix. He is a Gold Capped Conure. I bought him for my wife right before we were married. Of all our animals, he is my least favorite. He is very needy and prone to biting when he does not get his way or if he feels he has been ignored for too long. Unfortunately, a few years ago, he decided that I was his favorite person in the world. So, when he is out of his cage, he wants to be on me all the time. A word of warning to everyone reading this, small parrotts poop a lot! And, when it dries, it is the hardest substance known to man. Don't believe me...even NASA was amazed at how tenacious bird poop is when they found it still attached to the space shuttle after being launched into space.
I hope you enjoy the photos of all my animals below. The last one shows Moose whispering to me how happy he is to have a new little brother. He began to play with Ajax, the minute Ajax came home.
Topper
Tux
Moose
Ajax
Phoenix
Me and the dogs
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