My Story

Me, in my element, Shuttle Pilot Jammin' Out

I was born 30 July, 1953 in Mojave, California, near Edwards AFB where they do all that testpilot stuff. I'm 5' 9" and 230 lbs. I lived for a while in Melbourne, FL, Huntsville, AL, Long Beach, CA (Kindergarten), and then San Jose, CA, (through the 4th grade) and then moved to Houston, TX, where I grew up around the Johnson Space Center and all that NASA stuff.

After playing French Horn in Junior High, 1967, I took up Bass Guitar and played in Rock-n-Roll bands until 1983 (17 years). I also played keyboards, guitars, harmonica, sang, and wrote both music and lyric. It was a lot of fun, but there was never much money in it.

As a teenager, I had the usual Hamburger jockey type jobs and worked as a carpenter's helper framing houses. I also worked as an auto mechanic for a while. Somewhere in here I joined the US Navy and played at that for about three years as a Machinist Mate 3rd Class.

I got my first job at NASA in 1977 as a shop technician for a contract firm that produced Engineering Prototypes, models and other such gizmos for the Astronauts and engineers to test and train with.

During this latter stuff, I worked days, and went to junior college at night and completed an Associates Degree in Computer Science. I then got a job as a associate Computer Programmer. I then went nights to the University of Houston at Clear Lake (near NASA) and completed a bachelors degree and two years of post-graduate work also in computer software and graphics. Once my bachelors degree was done, I became a full programmer and got a nice raise to go with it.

Reno Living Room Pike's Peak from NW Home I owned in Colorado Back Deck

In 1985 I got a chance to move to Colorado Springs. I was there 17 years, in spite of lack of steady jobs and lots of layoffs. I loved the weather and landscape there. I lived in a 2600 sq. ft. house on 5 forested acres, with all God's creatures of the forest paying an occasional visit. I lost my house in Colorado after being out of work for two whole years, unbelievable, what a country. My heart will always remain in Colorado, it's just that beautiful. I hope to return there, and sooner than later would be preferred. Perhaps when I retire.

My Viking Costume 2009 Viking Warlord

I'm now in Reno, Nevada, after being homeless for over a year. The job here is good and Reno is Ok for weather and Lake Tahoe is quite pretty. I just wish California did a better job of road maintenance during the winter. They tend to just close roads rather than keep them plowed, and they require drivers to chain up rather than sand the roads. Even the concrete of I-80 shows the harsh wear and tear that using chains causes...dumb.

I still play music at home (I have a personally produced CD), but the studio will be a while in returning. I watch movies, or play games on my computer, read fantasy novels, and occasionally go cruisin in Reno. I love to downhill snow ski when I can, and take drives in the mountains (lots, when the snow finally melts(see above)).

I'm still working on a fantasy novel and related screenplay, maybe someday soon I'll finish it and get it published. For more info on my book go here: http://www.batonecro.com/