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Ah, how do I describe me? How do I put the essentials of this person known as Richard into a short
profile? How does one publish the essence of self into a few paragraphs? That is the puzzle and here is
the answer.
I am a man with a quirky sense of humor as life is full of joy and wonder. This little ball of rock,
mud and water that we all share known as Earth is an
incredible place, with many secrets to
discover. Our corner of the universe is filled with beings, some happy and some sad, who each have their
own special story to tell. My philosophy is to take life with a light heart; I just approach each day as a
new source of joy and happiness. Those things which are evil or bad get ignored, discarded or defeated;
the good gets helped, enriched and fulfilled.
I've spent the day hiking the Wonderland of
Rocks in Joshua Tree after the spring rains, crawling over boulders and peering at Indian pictographs.
I've been on boats to the Channel Islands off
Santa Barbara, and I've stared in fascination at wasps building their homes in
Anza-Borrego. I love walking the
beaches of California, seeing the mountains, hiking
through the snow and smelling the desert after a rain.
To me life is filled with friendship; in fact, you can tell the character of a being from the quality
of his friends. The people that I call "friend" are wonderful, caring beings, with whom I share my life,
experiences and happiness. These are the people who listen without interrupting, understand other people's
feelings, build up others with positive energy and don't tear people down with bad news and problems.
Work is very important; in many ways one's job defines one's self. I love my job and feel fulfilled at
doing a decent days work for a decent wage every single time I leave the office. I work hard to ensure
that every minute of the time I spend at work is for the benefit of my employer and those people whom I
manage. My time is precious, so I ensure that my work does not come home with me; I maintain a strict
demarcation between my work life and my home life. In this way, I ensure my life remains balanced and full
of happiness.
To completely round things out, my spiritual side is of critical importance. I spend many hours
studying how to help myself, my family, the groups to which I belong, mankind, life, the physical
universe, spirits and, of course, God and the infinite universe. I've learned that I can contribute to the
betterment of society, I can help others, and that I am a good and caring being.
I'm very happy with myself and my life, and I am satisfied with the paths that I have chosen. I am a
writer, and am currently working on a fantasy novel. My hobbies include
photography,
stamp collecting, reading
science fiction and
fantasy, watching
movies, painting
fantasy miniatures, studying history and helping
people as often as possible. I enjoy curling up with a good book, a cup of hot chocolate and
listening to some good music.
I am a California baby, and over the years I've learned to love this state. We have incredible national
parks, including the Channel Islands,
Joshua Tree,
Death Valley, Sequoia, Yosemite and a dozen
others. Add to that hundreds of state and local parks and recreation areas, and you have an outdoor
experience that cannot be beat. Traveling is something I really
enjoy, especially short day- or weekend-trips.
Add to that all of the plays, concerts, shows, museums,
zoos and events all over the state, and you've got a virtual
infinity of things to experience and do. Sifting through all of this and finding a few jewels, a few
special places to spend with a loved one, can by fun all by itself.
I am a seasoned computer professional who has been working in this field back when the
internet was called the ARPANET and there were less than 1,000 sites on the whole thing! In the areas of
computers, I've probably done it all - everything from building a computer from scratch to creating the
programs which deliver water to several cities in the United States.
By day I am the Director of Technical Services for a major chain of retail stores, where I
manage a great group of professionals. Our job is to maintain over 100 Windows NT servers and 200
workstations, along with 6 mainframes. We also manage a fully loaded disaster site, ready to take over our
company's business in the event of a major earthquake, fire or other calamity. By night I am the webmaster
for Internet Tips And Secrets, a site intended to help people
understand and use the internet.
My wife Claudia passed away on February 1st,
2005 at 10:37am PST from septic shock due to an infection due to diabetes caused by asthma medications. I
2 cats (Tabby and
Baby) and a dog (Hades).
My other cat, named Buttercup, passed away 2
weeks after Claudia from a massive tumor in her intestines (February 2005 was not a good month for me).
I am a member of
I am A+ and MCSE+I certified. I've been in the computer business for 25 years now,
beginning with the old PDP-11 systems running RSTS/E and RSX, then moving to
VAX/VMS (now called OpenVMS), Macintosh, Windows
95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, 2003 and XP. I also work with Linux, FreeBSD, AIX and Unix.
During the 1980's and 1990's I was considered a "guru" and wrote several device drivers
for RSTS/E and OpenVMS (back when it was just VMS). I was involved in designing, implementing and
supporting products such as the first disk defragmenter known to be written (Diskit for RSTS/E) and it's
successor on VMS, a telephone fraud detection system, numerous accounting packages, a water billing
system, and several file repair utilities which fixed problems in internal file structures.
I also helped implement and design the SCADA (System Control And Data Acquisition) systems
for North Las Vegas, New Haven, Connecticut and Ojai, California. These systems are responsible for
getting the water from the rivers and dams to the customers who drink it.
I maintain over a hundred and sixty web sites:
My grandfather spent most of World War II in a Japanese Prisoner of War camp. My
site includes his journal as a memorial to his great service to
our country. My father is a wildlife artist. He and my mother operate a gallery and gift store up in Lake
Arrowhead, California. My sister, Belinda, is a Microbiologist (among other things), has five children and
a wonderful husband.
Misker's Denizens Contests
Poser art by
Claudia
Please do not use without permission
Background by
Claudia's Collection
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