I have no Idea of what I am doing

Well, I see my friends with a better developed sense of responsibility have beaten me to it. I'm not going to be quite so forthcoming as they are, at least not yet, probably because of my professional background. I spent 21 years on active duty in the U.S. Army, then another three as a professional civilian working for the government. Most of this time was as what is often termed a "spook," or intelligence officer. Do not ask me anything about a G2 or S2 shop. Not my department. I wore civilian clothing almost my entire military career and you wouldn't often see me with a GI haircut or anywhere near a military post.

After I left the Fed for a better paying job (I was subject to what was called the "RA offset," meaning retired regular officers had to pay a portion of their retirement pay for the honor and privilege of being an uncivil servant), I spent three years in Washington, D.C. as a "beltway bandit." I was a program manager working with classified military communications and then ran a 25-person effort with the then Strategic Defense Initiative. I think that money pit is now called the Ballistic Missile Agency or some such nonsense.

Then I was recruited for a senior management position with a major defense contractor in Silicon Valley. That job didn't last as long as I would have liked, so within a few years I was self-employed, doing my own thing as a consultant. That went on for about ten years.

More later. I am old and tired, but I am looking forward to this new venture. The old Intel Dump blog introduced me to some very cool dudes, some of whom I've "known" for, I think, nigh onto six years. That's an eternity. I'm comfortable with you folks and I have a fairly thick skin. Give me your best shot. Not in the attack sense, but in the sense of the full range of your intellect. Some day I'll tell you what my daughter, the scientist, has to say about my opinion of people who don't maximize their those seven inches or so between the ears. She learned all about it as a young 'un. Now I can't stand her. She's way smarter than I am.