Having survived -- physiologically if not mentally -- the rigors of a University of Georgia Masters program, Rachel is an official Master of Science! (And a graduate of both University of Georgia and long-time rival Georgia Tech.) Does this mean that I now have to address her as "Master"? Rachel's Masters project -- an education for us both -- investigated effects of pulp mill residues on soil physical properties. Youngest of seven sisters and my wife of sixteen years, Rachel is loving, humane, and incredibly responsible; she cooks marvelously and tolerates most of my bizarre behavior.
I, Chuck, the Old F*rt of this pair, am an ex-mechanic, a half-trained machine designer, and a self-taught computer geek. Maybe I should say "data geek." I have learned to use and program computers as data analysis and communication tools, not just because it's fun to make them jump through hoops (although that is fun). I am way too lazy. If you gave me a tedious two-hour job, I would spend an hour and a half devising a way to do the job in 15 minutes.
Our first child, Elizabeth, was born August 29, 2000. She is of course unbelievably cute. We expect another daughter in March 2003.
We live in an 85-year-old house with a variable number of cats, currently three: Jessamine, Jack, and Other. Jessamine, the current Best Cat in the World, greets us with cheerful chirps, purrs loudly, and wakes us twice a night for companionship. Jack is a paranoid basket case; he jumps at any noise and hides under our bed when it's time to go out. Other (for "Other Black Cat") is a muscular wiry-haired stray, about as paranoid as Jack. The recently departed Al was a big swaggering slob of a street cat. Named for Al Bundy, this was a cat who -- were he merely human -- would happily lounge on the sofa with a beer, watching football. His worst habit was terrorizing Jessamine.
Critters in our lives:
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