I've been a San Francisco Bay Area resident since I ran out of money in Oakland in late 1976 and stumbled into a job at a hippie backpacking company named Sierra Designs. I was one of the founders of Mountain Hardwear and I'm currently supporting my good friends at SlingFin as a Board Member and occasional CSO. Before that, I worked variously as a short order cook, a construction worker, at farm labor, and in the worst possible food production factory.

I became a computer professional by solving the Colossal Caves game on HP3000 'mini-computer' and ultimately designed and built systems that managed inventory and capital by focusing forecasting and supply chain management on the key issues and opportunities in our corner of the business world. I once realigned a tweaked tailbone with the original Kaypro II. My design inspiration--my pattern language before Alexander's concept got ported to software design--was always biological systems. They're highly evolved, diverse, and as complex as you might want or need. The humans involved are always part of the system.

During this period, I was also a volunteer housing activist and community organizer in Oakland.

I've always loved books about natural systems as well as the 'pulps' (SF, Fantasy, Detective Fiction, and Horror) plus assorted non-fiction. I have to give shouts out to Carl Jung and Thomas Kuhn. I love all sorts of music except Opera and modern country and I'm currently wavering on both of those. A Desert Island list would have to include P-Funk, Richard Thompson, Sonic Youth, Sturgill Simpson, and PJ Harvey.

Stories are a lifelong interest. (https://alantabor.medium.com/the-story-of-story-part-1-9c7029877a1e) Medium is just the latest iteration. I don't so much write as slowly extrude text in an effort to research and think through the things that puzzle, delight, or annoy me. Lately, that's been American politics and the emphasis is on puzzle and annoy.

I'd be happy if it would just let me go but what can you do?