Biography

I am married to Marti Edelstein, home stager. I am the father of two beautiful.girls, Robin and Sydney.

I graduated from Columbia University in 1972 with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineer.

I put myself through Columbia University by doing computer programming for various professors of economics. I then spent the next 10 years as a contractor to various government agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the US Department of Labor, the National Opinion Research Center, and the National Bureau of Economic Research.

In the early 1980's I wrote a variety of commercial computer software programs for minicomputers and microcomputers.  Among these was a product called Cylencer that was a PC-based voice scrambler.

In 1994, PC Magazine named my product, TAPEDISK, as one of the best 115 products of the year.

In 1999 I became active in the Libertarian Party and in 2001 I was nominated as their gubernatorial candidate for Colorado.  For that year, I went around Colorado preaching a message of freedom, tolerance, and fiscal responsibility.

In 2006 I became alarmed by the use of computers to do the counting of votes.  As such, I was the founder of Boulder's Paper Tigers, a group dedicated to the counting of paper ballots by hand. My position is that the paper ballots should initially be counted by scanners and computers so that the public can get a quick but unofficial count; but that the ballots be then counted by hand in the traditional and well-tested and well-thought-out methods used for 100 years to preserve secret ballots. I know that the dual counting -- hand and computer -- will provide a check and balance that will keep both counting methods honest.

In 2008, the Libertarians selected Randy Luallin, Bo Schaffer, and me to run for County Commissioner.

I hold a software patent regarding data compression and I have filed another provisional patent on what I know is a revolutionary new way to do data deduplication (a form of data compression).

Over the last ten years I have been the general contractor of the two homes that I have renovated.  I, physically, did the framing, plumbing, and electrical work on these two renovations and am intimately familiar with building and electrical codes.  I know, first hand, the hassles and blessings (yes, even blessings) of dealing with city and county governments when trying to do even simple renovations.

The Daily Camera has graciously given me a blog.  You can read much of my philosophy and perspectives here.  I have also published many guest opinions in the Daily Camera and the Denver Post. 

I am the guardian of three lovely and loving dogs.