Research...Networking...Solutions...Ideas...Answers... Home Page      Résumé BRIEF EXTEMPORANEOUS BIO Thomas John Huston born 11/4/44 on a cold and snowy day in Shelby Ohio to John and Marian. As you can see, I always tell people I was born with a full house, a pair of aces and three 4’s. It also happens to be Will Rogers birthday, not the year of course. As it turns out, I love humor and telling stories too. My Dad’s side of the family were farmers, Irish, Scottish, English, religious, and my Grandmother was very philosophical. I loved visiting my Grandmother and exploring the farm. My Mom’s side of the family were tool and die makers, German. I loved visiting my Grandfather and Uncle’s tool and die shop and learning about Mechanics and Engineering. I excelled in Science in school and loved building things. My parents were absolute perfectionists and they "blessed" me with that also. Anything I created had to be good and with a little taste / aesthetic appeal. We did not have art in school, oh, I wish we had. My first exposure to Art was an oil painting class in my mid 20’s. My first love was Astronomy. I was going to be an Astronomer. In 62’ I studied Astronomy at Ohio State University, got bored with the strange professors and switched to Engineering. Hated the boredom of Engineering and switched to Math. Was bored with Math, flunked out in 63’ and again in 64’. In 65’ I joined the Ohio Army National Guard and went to Fort Knox and learned how to survive and kill people. Then I went to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio TX and became a medic and learned how to keep people from dying from people who were trying to kill us. Some adventure huh? Thanks to my "lucky stars", I missed Viet Nam. I almost forgot, I went to squad leader school too and was a squad leader. At Fort Sam, I was the company PT (Physical Training) leader. Each morning at 5am I lead 150 men in PT. That’s kind of funny, because I was 5’ 8" and 120 lbs. Company "TenHut"! Upon returning from my military training, I took a computer training course and learned how to program wire boards with 21 instructions. This was the beginning of my career in computers. Since 65’ I have worked with scores of computers, all sizes, shapes, and brands. My specialty has been software, analysis, design, programming and implementation of systems. I have been independent most of the time and worked on dozens of applications and for more than 40 companies over the years. In the late 60’s, I was doing Computer Art when only a few people in the world were doing it. "Computer Art for People" was my calling card. I wanted people to realize that computers could do beautiful creative things as opposed to making errors on their bills. I sold originals and thousands of prints in 33 countries over a period of years from the late 60’s to the mid 70’s. You may view some of the works at ILoveStainedGlass.com. Soon you will be able to see some of my oil paintings there too. I love painting, but never thought I was very good. Some day, I want to get back to painting more. At one point during this period, I had a custom frame shop, which I enjoyed very much. Also during this period, I graduated from Taylor University in Indiana with a degree in Religion/Philosophy. For a while, I thought I was called to be a minister, but later got un-called. At the ripe old age of 27, I decided that I was no way mature enough to tell people what to do and what not to do as relates to eternity. And, at the ripe old age of 61, I’m still not prepared to tell people what to do with "their" destiny! Also during this period, I went to Ball State University and did Masters work in, what else, Computer Science. Then for a multitude of reasons, at 32, in 76’, I blew it all off and moved to St Augustine FL and took an entire year off. Of course I did some computer work and art for fun. But I began to study health and nutrition, which I continue today. It’s a shame, our medical system is such a disaster. Somewhere in here I spent a couple years actually employed by RSH an A&E firm in Jacksonville doing things like CPM/Pert, HVAC, Financial Modeling, 3D Graphics and other engineering software projects. Then a couple more years consulting at an Environmental Sciences and Engineering company in Gainesville, designing and implementing a data base system to handle their air and water samples for analysis. In the late 70’s I created an extensive educational system (pcCATTS Computer Augmented Teaching and Training System for the personal computer) for the coming pc age. I spent many years with a company in Atlanta (Intelligent Systems- remember the Compucolor or the IS3650) traveling the country doing trade shows and marketing this system. A side project during this period was a job writing games / educational programs and installing seven computers in the Museo de Ninos (Children’s Museum) in Caracas Venezuela. That was great, I met a gal there who took me all over Venezuela. The highlight of that was visiting Angel Falls in the northern part of the Amazon. As they say, this is only the tip of the iceberg of my 40+ years solving computer problems for people. In my early 20’s I read a book, "TO BE OR TO HAVE", by Eric Fromm and to the life long detriment of my financial status, I choose "TO BE". But for me there is no other way! Also in my 20’s, I realized that our time is one of our most valuable assets. So being independent, I attempted to buy my own time. Hence investing it in studying and creating as opposed to working to accumulate. People think I’m nuts when I tell them about my life, but it has been jam packed. Course I work a lot of 18 hour days. If you are not laughing or crying by now, I don’t know what to tell you. I’m starting to drift here, so I’ll wrap it up and bring you to the present. In the early 90’s my parents (in their late 70’s) health began deteriorating and I could not convince them to move from Ohio to the South (GA, FL), as I had been trying for 20 years. I watched my Mom’s Alzheimer’s onset for 15 years. In 96’ my Dad had serious problems and my Mom could not take care of herself. So I left Atlanta and returned to Ohio. Some where around 98’, I started looking into stained glass and became more serious in 99’ and here we are in 2006. To sum up, my life has been blessed! Nuts as it may seem, it’s been a fascinating journey. I’ve not said much about personal events, but it’s as extensive as the creative. I had a time in the sun with the computer art and pcCatts, now I’m doing stained glass. If I don’t go broke, maybe, I’ll have a time in the sun with ILoveStainedGlass.com! As for the future, I’ve always said I wanted to live to 2050 and that would make me 106. I’d like to write for the kids, "To Be, To Be, To Be". I’d like to tell jokes and stories to inspire one and all. Like Picasso, I want to dance in my underwear, wear a mask, and create art until my last breath. And, like Vincent, I want everyone to understand "Starry Night"! Regards, Tom Other exciting TomsThinkTank sites you may wish to visit!     Questions ~ Comments Copyright © 2010 Thomas J Huston