As it was, I realized choosing the study of Chinese literature as my life's work was probably a mistake.

The 1970s, the decade of my teenage years, was a transitional period in American youth culture.

I was born in Palo Alto, California in 1961.

There are relatively few experiments in atomic physics these days that don't involve the use of a laser.

I certainly remember building model rockets. It was fun to watch the rocket blast into the air, suspenseful to wonder if the parachute would open to bring the rocket safely back.

Between rounds of speed chess I read enough of a programming manual to teach myself to write programs on the school's DEC mainframe in the language Basic.

I was partly old-fashioned and partly modern.