My formal education was initially in music graduating with a B. Mus. in 1974, and majoring in clarinet performance. I then switched career directions, studying business computer programming using four different common IBM System 360 programming languages at a technology trade school, and worked as a business computer programmer at several jobs over the next 11 years or so. I then decided that my skills were best honed in explaining the use of software products rather than in designing and building them. So, I took courses in technical writing and started working as a technical writer in 1988. I recently retired as a technical writer
from one of the largest software companies in the world focusing on web service sales and development. I also volunteer in areas focussed on human durability; I am fascinated by science, especially astrophysics and the search for life beyond Earth; and I still listen critically to music, primarily in the classical and jazz domains, all periods included, as well as in some classic rock, folk, and other popular forms.