About John

40-something Scottish guy transplanted to Wa state. Married a couple of times, & still learning to live with the baggage that always brings.

I grew up in Glasgow, Scotland with my parents and younger sister and brother. After completing school at King’s Park Secondary, I joined the Royal Air Force as an apprentice technician to work on communications and radar systems. Basic training at Swinderby in Lincolnshire was followed by 3 years of technical training (yes… 3 years) at Cosford in the midlands. Finally, in 1978, I got to work on real aircraft. Two tours on Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW) types. The second half of my 22 years was spent on Airborne Early Warning (AEW) community, both aircraft technical and finally in software development.

Retiring in 1997, I moved to WA and found a job with the Boeing Company… Still working in software, but manufacturing systems by this time. Over the last 8 years I have been able to gain experience in systems levels of thinking and engineering. The company has been great by sponsoring me on Software Architecture courses through the prestigious Carnegie Mellon University.

When I was 17 and in school, I was grabbed by old black and white movies… especially Psycho, Strangers on a Train and other film noir… ever since DVD came out, I have been finding those old movies again. Favorite ? hmmmmm…. The Third Man.

I run… a lot. It has become a goal to run a marathon in all 50 states. It might take me until I am 75, but I will give it a shot. Otherwise, you can find me working on the house or playing on my laptop. I have 4 wonderful kids. My daughter (the last one still in high school), one son just graduated (summer ‘07… E. Canada) and the last two sons (22 yrs+… E. Canada and WA) are pretty much grown and finding their own successful paths.