Long version:
Spoiler
As my book bio states, I'm a computer scientist (U of Idaho '83) for the Department of Navy. More specifically, I'm a Senior Torpedo Software Test Engineer, which is a fancy way of saying that I make sure the world's most lethal torpedoes perform according to their rigid specifications. The US fleet and many allies are well armed with these bad boys.
My professional journey began in 1984, when accepted a job out of college to work in Cold Lake, Alberta, as a software specialist on a combat simulation system for the Canadian Armed Forces. This same system, designed by Cubic Corporation of San Diego, was seen in the debrief scene in Top Gun a few years later. Great PR!
After my contract and work visa expired in late '85, I moved to Buena Park, California, to work for Hughes Aircraft Company. My first job there was as a test engineer for a battlefield tracking system. In March of 1987, I was transferred to the torpedo systems division as part of the ADCAP (advanced capability) Mod 5 test team.
In the summer of 1987, the greatest thing ever happened to me. We, the defense contractor (Hughes Aircraft), did the majority of the systems and software work, while the government reps from Newport, Rhode Island, occasionally came on site to witness and help out. The idea being that the work would eventually move back east. Fortunately, I fell hard for one of those government reps and she fell hard for me. As fate would have it, I didn't really like it in SoCal, so I put in for a transfer to the Hughes office in Rhode Island. Yes, it was like a Hallmark movie and it all worked out. We've been together ever since.
Once I came out to the east coast, I became more of a software person, primarily programming in the Navy language CMS-2. This was soon replaced with the more modern Ada language as the old Mod 5 torpedoes began to fade away and the Mod 6 came into vogue. With the advent of torpedo simulators, I was asked to head up a torpedo software test team, which was great because I had become tired of just programming.
There are many variations of torpedoes: large ones (heavyweight), smaller ones (lightweight) and a few in-betweeners. One thing remains constant in torpedo world. These are bad-ass weapons. There has not been a wartime torpedo firing since the Vietnam War because foreign sub and ship captains know not to mess with us. Every few years the Navy will retire a war vessel (like a battleship) and use an ADCAP to scuttle it. The videos produced from these SINK-EX exercises make it out to worldwide circulation with a loud and clear message.
https://www.military.com/video/underwat ... 8313278001
I moved over to the government in 1998, just a year after Hughes Aircraft was bought by Raytheon (a defense contractor notorious for laying off workers en masse). Same job, different chain of command. Without the layoff risk, my wife was able to quit her Navy job and stay home with our youngest. She never went back.
I have been told many times that I would make a good manager, but I have refused every offer. I like it "in the trenches." I've held a secret clearance since the 80s and I spend most of my time in any one of the many secret labs here at the Naval center.
I will miss every one of them.
"So what are you going to do when you retire?" you ask. The obvious answer is, "Not go to work." But that wouldn't be entirely true. You see, I have a unique skill in that I'm the only person in the world who can program one of the older torpedo lines. The software is on an old VAX system from the 1980s (the Navy loves to get their money's worth out of their weapons) and I need to be available in case a change/upgrade is needed. I will also help the test team when needed. I will work for a defense contractor on an "as needed" basis, maybe a few times a month.
Otherwise, my days will be free to work on the house (we have a 100-year-old Dutch Colonial) and travel about. My wife and I are active geocachers and we will spend plenty of time in that pursuit. We will travel about New England, then work our way westward-ho and southward-ho, seeing what (and whom) we can see. We want to travel while we are young-ish and active-ish because you never know what life will throw at you.
Case in point: I never shared this the Bored, but my wife is a recent breast cancer survivor. She underwent a lumpectomy and radiation treatment in August/September of 2020 (mid-pandemic, great timing), but is doing well and is now considered to be cancer-free. This is great news, of course, but the fact remains that the surgery, radiation treatments and RX meds come with some ass-kicking side effects that last many years after the cancer removal. Thankfully, there are more good days than bad days. We want to take advantage of the good days and get out there. Fuck the bad days. Oh, and fuck cancer. Hard. (Insert language apology here).
We have two adult sons, but neither is married so we have no grandkids to watch and spoil. I'm forever grateful to my in-laws who helped us raise our sons back in the 90s when they were tiny (the boys, not the in-laws) and we were both working. We both hope to be grandparents some day, but that is out of our control. More freedom for us!
Hey Vandal, what about...? I know, I know, I know. What about writing? Formula: More time = more books, right? The short answer is It Ain't Necessarily So. I'm not a day writer. I hit the keyboard at night (it's currently 11:12 PM) and not all that often, anymore. I have three titles coming out in the near future (Dragon re-released and two Devin Drake mysteries) so my past years of productivity have paid off, publishing-wise. But the thrill is not what it used to be and, although I have a contract for a book series, I have no deadlines. I'd like to wait and see if the first Devin Drake book sells at all before I write another. It's even difficult to find motivation to write crappy promos, hence the use of recycled bits.
EDIT: I got some inspiration and started writing the third book. We'll see where that goes.
Worry not, I'll still be hanging around these parts and I'll still present Bored challenges to the (dwindling) BB masses. What and when have yet to be determined.
So that's my retirement story. Consider yourselves lucky because I rarely open up about my private or professional life. I'm proud to have been a civil servant these many years. Remember, even in retirement, I will always be your Bored Buddy.
Peace.
Short version: