Bio:Tom Ashwell

Tom was born in Canada, the middle child of five, he was a bit of a loner most of his life. When he was young he worked as a stable hand and played hockey. He loves animals and is currently owed by a cat named Smudge. With most of his family he moved to the USA in 1979 to escape socialized medicine, where, cursed with a high IQ, he studied physics, electronics, chemistry, astronomy and computers in high school and three universities (at the cost of any real social life). He was briefly married in the early 1990's but that did not work out. In fact, it nearly killed him. He has been everything from the aforementioned stable hand to a corporate manager, spending more than nine years as a database consultant. He occasionally conducts private research involving physics and/or electronics and belongs to at least one private think tank. He has done some acting once he 'got out of his shell' and performed at Renaissance festivals for years. He currently works at a job he is not allowed to disclose any details about, makes leather crafts for Renaissance fairs (Frog N Bottle), writes science fiction and occasionally blogs. (amitiel-colloquium). Jack of all trades and master of none. A good background for this kind of writing. Tom may seem opinionated and short tempered to those that do not take any time to get to know him. I have known him to be patient and have well-informed opinions - generally more informed than those that think him to be harsh or quick to judge. He is the kind of man that will go to the ends of the earth for a friend or acquaintance - just because they asked for his help. His quick wit and charm can make him the life of the party, but he also has no time for aggressive idiots. If you want to talk to him, find his fan page on Face Book. I run it. Get to know him. He is truly unique. Michael Caliban