After
our Rhet year, I went east to Catholic U., along with Gary Passarino
and Dave Valtierra. Two years later, I found myself saying to a
classmate that I had been uncertain about my calling for a long time
and that maybe “It might look clearer from the other side of the
fence.” I left, and it did get very clear: I gradually realized that I
was not cut out to be a spokesman for any large organization. Anything
I really can’t agree with becomes a pebble in my shoe, and I can’t
ignore it.
I spent the next 7 years in jobs compatible with a BA in
Philosophy. I taught high school math in an inner-city girls high
school (what a change from the seminary!) and then ran a photo store
for Colorfax Labs, both in Washington DC. Then I came home and worked
for several years as a traveling baby photographer. An interest in
solar energy led me to stumble into my calling as an R&D engineer.
I first worked for a small company in Santa Cruz. That led to the
California Energy Commission, and then to UC San Diego in 1979. I’ve
lived in San Diego since then.
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Joe and Kathy and their children Jenny and Heather
In 1982 I started going to talks about space technology. I was
invited to give a talk myself, about what one can do with long ropes in
space. (I had read about this in science fiction and analyzed it as a
hobby.) I learned that an Italian scientist had talked NASA into
taking this seriously, and I later proposed a simpler concept. It was
funded, and led to 4 successful space experiments from 1993 through
1996, vs 2 failures of the more complex system. After that second
failure, NASA’s overall interest in space tethers decreased. But the
Naval Research Lab and several companies remain interested. I am
working with them on concepts that may allow affordable collection of
most of the 2000 tons of debris now in low earth orbit. In short, after
decades of being called a space cadet, it finally sunk in that my
friends had been giving me good career advice...
I've been married 25 years. My wife Kathy is a social worker/counsellor
for Kaiser Permanente. (That name does come from the creek near Saint
Joe’s.) In 1993 we adopted 15-month old twins named Heather and
Jenny. They are now 23, living at home after a year at Humboldt
State, and working and studying part time. Heather plans to be an
RN, and Jenny a teacher.
I had a minor heart attack in 2002. They put 3 stents in the next
day, and another 4 in 2009. In 2008 I was also diagnosed with
atrial fibrillation, which an ablation plus meds have controlled.
Other than that, my health is fairly good. My main exercise is hiking.
Last summer I visited the grounds of St. Joe’s and did several 2-hour
hikes in the hills. It’s great hiking! In the last month, Kathy and I
have done 2 short day-hikes on the Pacific Crest Trail, north and south
from Mount Laguna. That may be the prettiest in Southern
California.
tether@cox.net
entered: 4/19/2015