Q: Which products have you designed?
A: The Ronco Fetuccini Finagler is probably my proudest accomplishment. I've also designed Parallax's TCS230-DB, MoBoStamp-pe, PWR-I/O-DB, Proto-DB, 7Seg-DB, DB-Expander, SoundPAL, ServoPAL, BOE-Boost, Boe-Bot Encoder, and the GUI for the Scribbler, along with some EVMs for TAOS (Texas Advanced Optoelectronic Solutions), fishing lures for a local tackle company, and a game for an area toy company.
Q: What are your primary technical interests with electronics and microcontrollers?
A: Time travel, but that hasn't paid any bills yet. So optoelectronics and other sensor technologies, along with communications, have had to fill in for the time being. The Propeller has opened up a hoard of possibilities here. I'm constantly amazed by its capabilities and elegant design. (It can modulate a flux capacitor using a single cog!)
Q: You are very active on our discussion forums. How do you manage to make so much time every day to answer people's questions?
A: It's an addiction, really. I'm currently in a twelve-step program to help wean me from the dependency. Meanwhile, the sink is piled high with dishes, and the yard is full of weeds.
Q: Have you noticed any changes on the Parallax forums over the recent years? For example, are people's interests about the same or have they leaned towards a particular technology?
A: Interest in vacuum tube circuits has leveled off quite a bit during the forum's fifty-year history. Wirelsss communication and network connectivity are definitely on the rise, as is anything involving the Propeller. The latter has attracted some really sophisticated talent to the forum, and I'm impressed by some of the software that people are writing for, and in support of, the Propeller. But the basics, such as transistor circuitry, logic, comparators, op amps, and the like, are constant mainstays.
Q: Do you have other social and personal hobbies? What are they?
A: None. Electronics and programming are the only things that keep me from having flashbacks to my carny days. Well, okay, I also enjoy long walks on the beach, hiking in the Olympics, Scrabble, and the New York Times Saturday crossword. As much as I'd like to add "winters in Baja", those have been too few to count.
Q: What do you like about the place where you live?
A: That it (Washington State's Olympic Peninsula) is a real place, not a carnival trailer. Oh, yeah, its uncrowdedness, the proximity to mountains and saltwater, the ready access to fresh seafood, and a culture of outdoor activity are nice, too.
Q: Do you have any pets? What do they do to inspire or contribute to your productivity, if anything?
A: After my anaconda from the carnival (I was "Snake Dude") choked on the neighbor's pit bull, I was acquired by a cat, which I named "Browser" after Netscape Navigator. He's in charge of ESD testing (see photo) and, um, "strategic rearrangement". Okay, let's face it: he's a cat. He's in charge. Period.
“Browser” conducts ESD testing at Bueno Systems.