Introducing N=1

My name is Howard, and I'm interested in nearly everything, which can be a problem because it tends to inhibit focus, which is needed for accomplishing pretty much anything worthwhile. At least, for me, the times when my productivity was greatest has always been the times I have had the most intense focus. Having interests that are too widely-distributed is a bit like having ADD.

I am a violinist -- which is one of those things that required significant focus over a long period. That focus came mostly from a challenge unknowingly given to me by a girl when I was 16 (there's always a girl to blame, isn't there?). To this day, it seems that I achieve focus (or "flow") most readily when I set out to practice some specific new skill on my violin. I also enjoy teaching young children how to play the violin. Two things prevented me from going into music for a living, 1) I played professionally in a symphony for one season, and saw that the pay was nowhere near enough to support the lifestyle I wanted for myself, and 2) perhaps more importantly, I had a slight and subtle hearing deficit. I say "had" because I discovered how to fix it about 10 years ago, far too late to help with a musical career.

I learned electronics in the Navy, and earned a living as an Electronics Technician for nearly 10 years, including the time I put myself through college. In college, I majored in Chemistry and Physics for a while, then discovered Computer Science.

I am a programmer, with a specialty in real-time embedded systems. I currently work on flight simulators, which I find both challenging and enjoyable. I've written software for a living since the late 70's.

I got really interested in nutrition in 1999, when I had an epiphany when I experienced how much better low-carb worked for me than low-fat did, and I've been trying to spread the word ever since. My blog on that subject is at https://nequals1health.com

Naturally, since my interests are widely scattered, I have many blogs. I occasionally do video interviews for those blogs, and I seem to be getting better at that, although I have a long way to go before I would consider myself to be really good at it. My headshot above is from one of those interviews.