I'm a native Californian whose family has lived in the East Bay region for more than 100 years, spanning five generations. I've been though many phases in life, each building upon the last. Thus I'm familiar with many sides of the common social and political debates, from personal experience and through a wide variety of friends.
I began reading science fiction as a child, when I picked up my mother's paperbacks. Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, Kornbluth and others brought me the wonders of the universe, even as I enjoyed Captain Kangaroo and Bonanza. Later I cleaned out the entire more...