Jack and I decided to write these bios because we figured that you, the
loyal On Computers listener, would like to know who we are. But gee whiz, how do
you define no less condense your life for easy reading?
Okay, I was born. That's a start. I was born in Chicago and lived in greater Chicagoland for most of my life. About eight years ago I moved to Northern California and shortly thereafter married my lovely husband Jim Weir.
Some stuff happened between the time I was born and the time I married Jim. Some things, like my joining the On Computers family, even happened after marrying Jim. Some of the best things involve my two sons, Gregg and Brian. They have computers, but they are not as geeky as I am. In other words, they have a life. Gregg graduated from Columbia College in Chicago and Brian is currently a student there.
Somewhere along the line, I completed a few pilot ratings. Somehow, and I'm not sure how, I won an Amelia Earhart Career Scholarship in 1994 and earned my commercial single-engine airplane rating. I also spent seven years as a professional glider pilot and flight instructor. It was the best job I've ever had, and I've had more than a few. My other technical skills include a certificate in bicycle repair and a ham radio license. My other interests include crafts, knitting, crocheting, embroidery, reading and gardening. I speak a little Spanish and a little French.
I got into computers through my dad who was an engineer. Because of his fascinating computer talk at the dinner table when I was a kid, I took a Fortran programming class in high school. I did well. It was one of the few math classes that I ever aced. Then for a few years, the computing interest lay dormant until I got my first home computer in 1983. It was a Radio Shack Color Computer. I've owned one or more home computers ever since. The first memory upgrade I did involved putting individual chips in sockets. I got my first DOS machine in 1986, have run Windows since 1994 and Linux since 1998. I wrote my first Web site in 1995 and currently maintain several sites.
I live in a small house on top of a hill next to an orchard with the aforementioned Jim. We have two cats, two dogs, satellite TV, and a dial-up connection. We run a small business and do other odd and sundry jobs to pay the taxes. That's about it.
Wait, I almost forget. I have skydived and I do have have a faded t-shirt to prove it!
Gail
© 2003 Gail Allinson
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