About Bob

Who am I and why would anyone care to read what I have to write?

I’ve been told I’m reasonably smart.  I’d agree with that.  I did graduate with an electrical engineering degree 26 years ago.  I certainly didn’t have any money to bribe anyone there, so, in spite of my overwhelming desire at that time to ditch engineering and be a rock star, I earned that degree.   Granted, I was not a great student, and most who would remember me from school would be far more likely to tell you stories about my band playing in the Leprechaun, a neighborhood pub right up the block only slightly larger than a walk-in closet, or some other antic there’s a decent probability I wouldn’t remember.  However, I remember far more than I ever expected to, and certainly far more than I’m sure any of my professors ever expected me to.

I’ve also been told I can explain extraordinarily complex subjects in plain language.   I figured that ability would translate well to a blog.

The one thing that perhaps got me through is that I do have an insatiable curiosity.  I loved  applying  the fundamentals of sciences I learned to my observations of my world.  I loved the ability to discern bullshit from fact.  I was completely fascinated that things happened millions of times a second that we could predict and observe.  Now, as a communications specialist fortunate enough to have worked in the right places at the right times to have worked with absolute bleeding edge communications technology, I know what systems I can use to mulitplex a trillion and a half bits per second onto a single strand of fiber optic cable for transmission.  I find that utterly fascinating.

I am also fortunate to have worked on a large project with a seasoned, brilliant professional who if nothing else left me with a maxim I can not forget, which dominates my approach to understanding everything I research and learn:

No good decision can ever follow a fundamentally flawed assumption.

I always evaluate and analyze underlying assumptions of any argument or position.  It’s always interesting what you can find there.

I also firmly believe that there is no problem on this earth too large for mankind to solve.  None.  If we could put a crew on the moon and get them back using the awesome computational power of slide rules, we can do anything.  (I draw the line at indoctrinated hate and blood feuds a thousand years old…. Those things require new generations to come along and be far more objective about the quality of their lives to be willing to put legacy prejudices aside.)

I hope you enjoy reading and commenting!