Webpage for Dallas E. Legan

The correct time from the U.S. Naval Observatory is: Clock

The real purpose of this page is to provide a 'live' (and more organized) backup to my LYNX bookmark file on my L.A. FreeNet account. But then, what would better provide a 'picture' of myself? This page is being set up using the sketch of HTML provided by "Dr. Bob's Painless Guide To The Internet (& Amazing Things You Can Do With E-mail)" on pages 72-74, "HTML Quick Reference" and a download of the bookmark file. (If you need any pretty pictures, contact me and I'll check into getting you some 35 mm slide dupes!) If things look a little ragged, I'm 'viewing' this thing with an HTML to text conversion utility and Bobcat, a Lynx version for DOS.

By the way, my standard disflamer:

I speak only for myself, and assume full responsibility for my statements.

Resume

Dallas E. Legan

Philosophy of This Web Page

Computer Stuff

The most important people influencing my progamming have been Herb Sergeant (Victoria College), Dr. Rhine (Texas A&M, Texas Engineer of the Year, digital electronics specialist. I made a 'D' in his class, but it still helped a lot.), Dan Dominic (Rockwell Int.), Tom Arnold (contracter at Rockwell Int.) and Wil Baden (FIG). The most important books I read on programming were Ruth Ashley and Judi Fernandez's book on IBM JCL, and Leo Brodie's "Starting Forth". Another big influence was Kisner's (sp?!) class at Rockwell on automata theory.

Web and Internet Resources

For a different view on this stuff, send some e-mail:

TO:mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu

Subject:(blank)
Body:send usenet/news.answers/internet-services/access-via-email and study the document you get sent.

Software

Hardware

I was helped out moving into the realm of Intel/PC a lot by my long time friend, Glenn Currie here.

Commodore and other archaic systems

Can the Net Computer recapture the magic?

CD-ROM sources

Books

Cycling and other Transportation

I got off to a slow start cycling, as a small child on a 'cruiser' that was too big, picked up some when I got a 'Stingray' style bike, and then more serious after aquiring a J.C. Penny Ten speed in college. I started riding it really seriously about ten years ago, till it fell apart. Two weeks after I replaced it with a Mountain Bike, my car was totaled, and I haven't looked back - today I'm a lifetime member of the League of American Bicyclists. I've had many memorable cycling experiences, drop me some mail if you want to know more about them.

Education

You'll notice my alma matre, University of Houston, is not listed here. After they shut down the Engineering Department at the Victoria Campus, where I was attending, in one ugly example of campus politics, then followed it up with what the Wall Street Journal described as a classic case of mismanagement of public institution funds, how could they be? I'm currently enrolled in Cal State Long Beach's Computer Science Department graduate school.

Newpapers

Art

Music

Music has always been very important in my life. Maybe the most important I heard was while I was a teenager and our family was on vacation on the Texas coast. I heard the first time "Mr. Tambourine" was played on the Houston radio station we were listening to. It reshaped my expectations from music, as Roger and company later did again with "Eight Miles High". Later significant events were first hearing the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and blues harmonica great William Clark.

Literature

Big impact here was with Ray Bradbury, Hermann Hesse, and Clark Ashton Smith, and most recently Jorge Luis Borges.

Employment Resources

I need a job. Seriously.

Political and Economic Information

Politics: the study of coerced choice.

Economics: the study of rational choice.

Three events were critical in setting my outlook on public affairs. The first was the attempt by Government agents to bribe my great uncle Scott into plowing the family farm crop under during the Great Depression. This, while people were standing in soup lines in major U.S. cities. The agents were sent packing in no uncertain terms. The second were articles in major newspapers about Libertarian political activist Karl Hess, and the emerging movement he helped forge. Third was Milton Friedman's "Free to Choose" TV show.