About the author

George G. Pinneo

George Pinneo, a WWII army brat, lived in 4 states and 8 different locations during WWII. &nbsp;He grew up in NW Ohio, graduating from Case Institute of Technology with a B.S.Ch.E in 1959. &nbsp;His technical career spans 59 years of experience: front-end wafer-fab microelectronics, diode laser and hybrid packaging with a focus on fully hermetic package design and manufacture. &nbsp;Along the way he was the fourth founder of a successful article surveillance 'start-up' in Florida. &nbsp;This entrepreneur loves to hear the phrase: 'you can't <em>do</em> that!' -and then does it, of course. &nbsp;One of his specialties is fluxless fully hermetic hard soldering for space-capable microelectronic packages. &nbsp;<br><br>Family vacations have taken the Pinneos through Canada, Alaska, to Hawaii, into Mexico and the Caribbean with sojourns to Western Europe and to both New Zealand and parts of Australia. &nbsp;A recent trip took them through Baltic Europe to see some of the cities of the Hanse. &nbsp;So far, they've visited 18 Caribbean islands, 7 Canadian provinces, 49 of the 50 States and 11 Mexican estados. &nbsp;Another trip took them through Andalucia where they stood on the top of the Rock and gazed across the Med at the mountians rising in Morocco some 8 miles south, just beyond the coast of Africa! &nbsp;And then they visited the ancient city Tangiers, of course!<br><br>He has no intention of visiting North Dakota. &nbsp;The family lives up on the Mogollon Rim of Arizona near the White Mountains. &nbsp;Recent summer vacations have taken them from Arizona to British Columbia, Vancouver Island and across the Mid-West to Michigan's UP and across the Souix into Ontario and Toronto.<br><br>At the age of 55 he earned a Private Pilot's license and then built an all-metal, 2-seat 'experimental homebuilt airplane, which he has spent 23 years 'refining'. &nbsp;He has twice flown cross-country to the annual EAA Fly-In, 'Air Venture" in Oshkosh, WI. &nbsp;Other hobbies include woodturning, tables, sailing, canoeing, black powder cannons, hiking and jewelry making, especially the casting of silver and bronze pendants.<br><br>A glimpse into his notions of what constitues <em>good</em> fiction is usually realistic, or 'hard' science fiction, based on actual engineering principles and hard scientific fact. &nbsp;He does not write <em>fantasy</em>, which is <em>not</em> science fiction! &nbsp;Philosophically, good fiction should teach not only new words but also new concepts. &nbsp;Good fiction should be uplifting, positive and enlightening. &nbsp;Bujold has shown SF can also be romantic in her novel: 'A Civil Affair'!<br>