George Pinneo, a WWII army brat, lived in 4 states and 8 different locations during WWII. He grew up in NW Ohio, graduating from Case Institute of Technology with a B.S.Ch.E in 1959. 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. Along the way he was the fourth founder of a successful article surveillance 'start-up' in Florida. This entrepreneur loves to hear the phrase: 'you can't do that!' -and then does it, of course. One of his specialties is fluxless fully hermetic hard soldering for space-capable microelectronic packages.
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. A recent trip took them through Baltic Europe to see some of the cities of the Hanse. So far, they've visited 18 Caribbean islands, 7 Canadian provinces, 49 of the 50 States and 11 Mexican estados. 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! And then they visited the ancient city Tangiers, of course!
He has no intention of visiting North Dakota. The family lives up on the Mogollon Rim of Arizona near the White Mountains. 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.
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'. He has twice flown cross-country to the annual EAA Fly-In, 'Air Venture" in Oshkosh, WI. Other hobbies include woodturning, tables, sailing, canoeing, black powder cannons, hiking and jewelry making, especially the casting of silver and bronze pendants.
A glimpse into his notions of what constitues good fiction is usually realistic, or 'hard' science fiction, based on actual engineering principles and hard scientific fact. He does not write fantasy, which is not science fiction! Philosophically, good fiction should teach not only new words but also new concepts. Good fiction should be uplifting, positive and enlightening. Bujold has shown SF can also be romantic in her novel: 'A Civil Affair'!
