Raised by very conservative parents and grandparents on my grandfather's ranch in Western Nebraska. When taking a breaks from raising certified Angus beef cattle, we'd hunt, fish, work on 4-H projects, go to church (usually a Wesleyan church led by a former Pilgrim of Holiness pastor, so much more conservative than some Wesleyan churches are now), attend local events, learn at, (and occasionally present talks at) university extension service and Society for Range Management meetings, and take vacations around Nebraska, nearby states and occasionally much farther away.

I spent a lot of my personal free time in our local library reading science fiction, ancient myths and legends, history books, etc. I also drew a lot of pictures and occasionally played with the few neighborhood kids whom I got along with.

I've had many jobs in a wide range of career fields since graduating from college. Most of them had in common helping people to find what they were looking for or to achieve their goals, especially the jobs I've enjoyed.

I've traveled to about 40 of the 50 states, Canada and Mexico. I've lived in North Dakota and Oklahoma before moving to Nevada.

I'm a keen enthusiast of gardening, video gaming, table-top game playing (board games, RPGs and miniatures wargames), studying and re-enacting history, reading, singing, watching movies and expanding on my childhood collections.