Children of stardust …

Say not that we are leaving:

We are going home.

            Who lies artistically, treads closer to the truth than ever he knows.

                -- Ningauble of the Seven Eyes (Fritz Leiber, “Adept’s Gambit”)

            It is more important that a theory be elegant, than that it agree with experiment.

                -- P. A. M. Dirac (Nobel Laureate in Physics, 1933)

 

    The next few paragraphs may help you — or your favorite search engine — figure out if I am the Jay Reynolds Freeman you are looking for, or whose web site, website, or home page you are looking for:

Possibly Too Much About Me:

    I was born and raised in Burlington, Vermont, and live in Fillmore, California. I have attended Edmund High School, The California Institute of Technology (CalTech), The University of California at Berkeley (U. C. Berkeley), and San Jose State. My doctoral thesis experiment at Berkeley was on board the last Apollo spacecraft to fly, the one that docked with the Russians in the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. I have worked at Dalmo Victor, Schlumberger Palo Alto Research, MasPar, The Filoli Information Systems Corporation, Sun Microsystems, and SpaceX. I have released four implementations of the Scheme programming language (a dialect of Lisp) for the Apple Macintosh; namely, “Pixie Scheme”, “Pixie Scheme II”, and “Wraith Scheme”, one version of Scheme for the Apple iPad -- “Pixie Scheme III” -- and a simple pixel-oriented Macintosh icon editor, “Percival”. I have had some articles on amateur astronomy published in Sky & Telescope. I have written 1.3 unpublished fantasy novels. My hobbies and activities have at various times included included amateur astronomy, telescope making, playing guitar, reading, science-fiction fandom, flying (airplanes, not drugs), sleight-of-hand magic, growing roses, English regency ballroom dancing, writing computer programs, building musical instruments, and being owned by cats. I used to be a geek but I think I am getting over it.

    At present, the things I most like to do include walking, reading (fantasy, science fiction, history), playing guitar (electric and acoustic — I am fond of classic rock and of folk music), writing fascinating computer programs, being outdoors at night with small telescopes (I have been an amateur astronomer since I was eight), taking college classes in obscure subjects (I am a perennial student), and cuddling my cats. I love music but I would rather play it on an instrument in my own hands than listen to it played by someone else. I don’t smoke, drink or use drugs — well, except for coffee, of course …

    I believe that life is sacred.

    I believe that the best way to make sure you have a heart is to lose it completely.

                                              We tell ourselves

                                                  the cries we hear may be those of labor

                                                  the pain we feel may yet be that of birth

                                                                                                 — Starhawk

Net.Comments:

   Freeman's Homilies for Simulating Wisdom on the Internet

    1)  There’s no point trying to separate the foot and mouth of a fool.

    2)  Stupidity is contagious: Avoid carriers.

    3)  Facts don’t go away.

    4)  Unsent comments won’t return to embarrass you later.

    5)  Cat-fighting annoys the spectators, and only proves you’re a cat.

    6)  People who call each other names are usually right.

    7)  Truth is in the details, but nobody takes the time to learn the details.

    8)  No one cares about the last word on anything.

    9)  On the net, nobody knows who you are, but everybody knows what you are.

    (I like fools; they make me look good.)

   The Seven Great Curses

    1)  May you live in interesting times.

    2)  May people in high places take notice of you.

    3)  May you get what you wish for.

    4)  May your friends take your advice.

    5)  May your enemies all have patience.

    6)  May you find out what you wanted to know.

    7)  May your children grow up to be just like you.

Software:

On August 12, 2023, I released Wraith Scheme version 2.29. Wraith Scheme is shareware, and is an implementation of the Scheme programming language for the Apple Macintosh™. Wraith Scheme 2.29 is a 64-bit application for Macintoshes using macOS “Big Sur” or later.

Wraith Scheme 2.29 is available for redistribution under the GNU General Public License.

Weasel Scheme 2.29 is available for redistribution under the GNU General Public License.

On December 15, 2010, I released Pixie Scheme II version 1.02, a 64-bit shareware implementation of the Scheme programming language for the Apple Macintoshes using maxOS “Snow Leopard” or later, with Intel processors that can run 64-bit applications.

Pixie Scheme II 1.02 is available for redistribution under the GNU General Public License.

On May 17, 2011, Pixie Scheme III version 1.12 was released in Apple’s App Store.  Pixie Scheme III is an implementation of the Scheme programming language for the Apple iPad™.

Pixie Scheme III 1.12 is available for redistribution under the GNU General Public License.

On November 17, 2009, I released Wraith Scheme version 1.36. Wraith Scheme is shareware, and is an implementation of the Scheme programming language for the Apple Macintosh™. Wraith Scheme 1.36 is a 32-bit application for Macintoshes using Mac OS X “Tiger” or later.

On February 8, 2007, I released Percival version 1.00. Percival is shareware for the Apple Macintosh, and is a specialized pixel-oriented editor intended primarily for touch-up and customization of the 128-by-128 pixel images commonly used for Macintosh Icons. Percival is a 32-bit application for Macintoshes using Mac OS X “Tiger” or later.

On February 13, 2007, I re-released the January, 1991 release of Pixie Scheme. Pixie Scheme is shareware, and is a very old implementation of the Scheme programming language, for Apple Macintosh hardware and software of the late 1980s and early 1990s. People who collect very old Macintoshes may find Pixie Scheme useful.

On October 14, 2007, I released Red Sky version 1.21. Red Sky is freeware, and is a specialized screen-darkening application for amateur astronomers who wish to use Macintoshes in the field, at night, without losing night vision due to screen glare. Red Sky is a 32-bit application for Macintoshes using Mac OS X “Tiger” or later.

On October 4, 2012, 1… version 1.01 was released in Apple’s App Store.  1… is an Apple iPad™ app that provides a bunch of clickable counters.

On January 14 2013, Features of Light and Darkness version 1.00 was released in Apple’s App Store.  Features of Light and Darkness is an app for the Apple iPad™, iPhone™ and iPod Touch™ that demonstrates features of human color vision with light sources of different kinds (different spectra) and different brightnesses.

You can learn more about these applications, and about how to download them, from my “Software” page.

Guide to the other pages on this site:

    Astronomy — Materials related to amateur astronomy.

    Blog — Scribbled notes on various subjects.

    Cats — Mine and other people’s — images and commentary.

    Favorites — “Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens ...”

    Fiction — Written by me, including the aforementioned 1.3 fantasy novels.

    Maker Fair — Pictures from an aesthetically and technically interesting event.

    Music — Comments and reviews. No music written by me.

    Recipes — For me, cooking is a survival skill: How to stay alive in the kitchen.

    Resume — Why you should hire me. Or not.

    Roses — A chrysanthemum is a chrysanthemum is a chrysanthemum.

    Software — Shareware and freeware for the Apple Macintosh, that I have written, and some iPad apps.

    Strange — Make that just “peculiar”, or maybe “odd”. No, leave it as “strange”.