I'm a genius! Here's my reveal

[up10ad]

So many of you have zoomed past my posting rate in the last year, making it seem like I'd never become a genius. It's really not a big deal, but it does represent time spent with some folks who have become good online friends. For them I'd like to share a bit more personal detail, not that it's all that interesting. ;)

My name is Rick and I live in Delta, CO with my wife of 13 years Sandi. We dated exclusively for almost 10 years before getting married so we've been together almost 24 years, since she was 21 (I was a bit older :rolleyes:). I grew up in Baltimore MD, went to UM in College Park where I majored in Criminology and worked as a Parole Officer just outside of Washington DC. I moved to Bakersfield, CA in 1978 where I worked in Probation, building homes, and finally as a Private Investigator. It was there I met Sandi at a major law firm where we both worked. :D

Shortly thereafter I teamed up with a friend and started a small software development company, Mustang Software. In '86 we released Qmodem Pro & the Wildcat! BBS system which was a big hit. We went public on NASDAQ in '95 and sold the company in an all-stock deal to Quintus in 2000. Unfortunately, the CEO of Quintus was a terrible manager and a crook. Shortly after closing the deal he was found to have been forging transactions and cooking the books. He tanked the stock before we were able to cash out of the deal. For those interested in the details, see the SEC complaint at http://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/complr17521.htm. It was a fantastic experience that had its ups and downs. One day I'll write a book 'How to turn $30 million dollars into $75,000 in just 30 days'. :mad:

We moved to Meeker, CO in 2000, following the rest of Sandi's family who had done so in the previous years. I have been working as the General Manager for a regional telco and ISP, guiding the company through a Chapter 11 proceeding that had its inception well before my arrival. It is for sale and will be auctioned off on Dec. 12 if ayone has a few million they want to invest.

My interests are the typical geek stuff. I am an Amateur Radio operator and I combine it with my computer interest via my weather station located at my home. A dedicated quad-core Vista system processes all the weather data, including images from two live cams, one of which can be controlled by web visitors. You can see it in action at deltaweathercam.com. Sandi runs a small Quarter Horse breeding program and takes care of our 5 horses, 6 geese, 3 ducks and 38 chickens. I take care of the two Giant Schnauzers and Sandi.

This has been the most enjoyable forum I have participated in since the early days of BBSing from '82 to the late '90s. I have met a lot of good folks here and want to thank you all for making it a fun place to visit. :cool:

[freakydeaky dutch bastard]

Nice to meet ya, Rick.

Cheers

[kenneth]

Nice reveal. It makes me all warm inside to be part of such a amazing community.

[ArEa_CoDe_415]

Nice reveal.

[Witness]

Damn 30 million, that's a he'll lot of money. Nice reveal.

[Saverino]

Rick, that was a great reveal! :)

It's about time you made it to 1000! :p

[IphoneTony]

Awesome... see it was worth the wait

[Youngbinks]

Great reveal Rick. It definitely seems as if you have things in order and are quite happy. Always fantastic to see.

[Buford T. Justice]

Nice. That was refreshing. :)

[Napoleon_PhoneApart]

Wow! I remember the days of Qmodem and Wildcat BBS! I thought the name Mustang sounded familiar...

[JoeT]

Ditto - that just fired some quite dusty neurons.

Hey, only 300 or so more posts and I'll have to do this as well, I suppose.

[aknightstale41]

Very nice reveal Rick, its cool to be a part of this forum with you and all the other members....a private investigator sounds like an interesting and fun job, i bet you have some great stories to tell from doing that.

[coasts]

hey rick, you finally got a title befitting of yourself. wear it well.

[connie]

Awesome reveal Rick, you are so fortunate to have seen and lived in different parts of the country and so many different life experiences. I am so glad you are part of EIC and congratulations, you have been a genius here for a long time inspite of the number of posts!

[psylichon]

Rick, when I got my first modem, I joined all the BBS's in my local calling area. And a good 75% of them ran Wildcat! software. That was a really golden time to be online. The only other people on the scene were folks smart enough to get online at that point, which weeded out a lot of the riffraff ;)

I consider you a truly wise man and a great friend. I love the interaction we've developed, and our mutual respect for each other's accomplishments and belief systems. May our friendship last well beyond whatever phone we may be using at the moment. :)

[up10ad]

Damn 30 million, that's a he'll lot of money. Nice reveal.Maybe I didn't explain that well enough. We sold Mustang for about $270MM in stock, not cash, and my share was about $30MM. I never got to cash out the stock before it's value plummeted to nothing because of the corrupt management practices. After a 6 year class action lawsuit I netted about $75K. I only mention it because it can be a good reminder of the volitility of the market, and it puts the real value of money in perspective. I have a wonderful family, good health, a modest lifestyle and I am thankful for the blessings I have.

[The Apple]

Rick Rules!!! You are one of my favorite posters here. Congrats on your Genius status! I too watched people flying by me in post counts. I heard a rumor about a rumor. You know the rumor that says that the first member to 10,000 posts gets a prize???? I heard a rumor that it was not true.

Here is hoping that you remain a member here for a long time!!! WTG!!!

[aggieman]

excellent reveal rick. it's amazing that alot of what you revealed alot of us already know from talking to you here and on irovr.

I agree with you about this site. Its the most enjoyable site I have been on as well. Even though I don't have an iPhone anymore I can't get away from here because of alot of the people here.

congrats on becoming a genius :smile:

[SikShift]

Even though I don't have an iPhone anymore I can't get away from here because of alot of the people here

You and me both brotha :2cool:

Congrats on 1,000 posts and an awesome reveal to go along with it Rick :laugh2:

[Buffy]

I just saw this. I loved your reveal, Rick. December 12 is coming up quickly! You live life on the edge, don't you? I will be praying for you on the 12th, though. Luv you, and am honored that you spend some time with us on this forum! XOXO

[dcom]

Qmodem and Wildcat. Cool! I worked for Hayes Microcomputer Products (the modem people) as a TSR back then and worked a lot with Qmodem. From what I remember, it was a good program.

Sorry to hear about the financial problems, though :(

[up10ad]

Qmodem and Wildcat. Cool! I worked for Hayes Microcomputer Products (the modem people) as a TSR back then and worked a lot with Qmodem. From what I remember, it was a good program.

Sorry to hear about the financial problems, though :(Dennis used to party with us at trade shows, we did 9 years of Comdex. He was a riot. Memories. We ended up with Qmodem when we from acquired John Friel of the Forbin Project.

[Starry]

BBS... WOW.. NOW I feel really OLD.. LOL sheesh... I'm so proud of you making Genius ... but you have always been a Genius to me toots.. :) I've said many times... You are awesome Rick, and I'm so honored to be one of many friends of yours... :) Happy Holidays to you and yours my dear!!

[projectdarkside]

Wicked reveal up10ad:2cool:
-Congrats on the 1000th post :wink:

[aenti]

Rick, its always great to see another Maryland-er, and what a great reveal! You'll have to go more in depth about your software development stories with me, I'm really interested.

If all goes well, I'll be at CP as well!

[up10ad]

Rick, its always great to see another Maryland-er, and what a great reveal! You'll have to go more in depth about your software development stories with me, I'm really interested.

If all goes well, I'll be at CP as well!Where in MD? Your profile doesn't give a clue and I couldn't find your facebook page. You're following me to CP, but over 30 year later!

Software development back in those early days was a hell of a lot of fun. We started as shareware along with many of the originators of that genre. I remember printing the first manuals for Wildcat! by sneaking into use the copy machine of the law firm we rented space from (that I worked for previously). When I gave my resignation from the firm to the top principal for the firm, he took me to dinner and tried to convince me to stay, saying that I was a great Investigator, but I would never be able to make the kind of money I was used to if I went into the software field. I sent him a copy of our prospectus for NASDAQ when we did our offering. :cool:

[aenti]

My bad.
Add me at facebook, the name is Michael Corleone. Why is that? Well, its temporary. I don't want colleges to find my profile when they research their new potential students.
I myself live in Clarksville, in Howard County.

[Napoleon_PhoneApart]

And I'm in Upper Marlboro, MD.

[up10ad]

And I'm in Upper Marlboro, MD.
Didn't do much in Howard Co. aenti, but Napoloean, I lived and worked as a parole officer in PG and So. MD counties. Good to place people geographically.

[psylichon]

Good to place people geographically.

http://www.frappr.com/?a=constellation_map&mapid=137440408593

[glsda]

Rick you are blessed man with the attitude toward life that you express in you reveal, "May the wind blow easy on your back and the sun shine gentle on your face": author unknown.

[fury]

You dated her for 10 years before marrying? Wow. That's an amazing story itself.

Thanks for the great read. Congrats! (both on the genius and the 24 years!)

[dimensiondvdrob]

Rick, what a great reveal. I only hope I can do such an amazing job in about 500 more posts :tounge:.

Anyway, I know we have not had much interaction, but I have read a lot of your posts and you definitely have a good amount of knowledge and insight to share.

[Hondamaker]

Cool reveal, Rick. It's about damn time!!

[Buffy]

In addition to a "slap" button as Starry suggested, I wish there was a "hug" button, because I'd use it multiple times on you, Rick. You're just awesome. :smile:

[Hondamaker]

Ok, Buffy---I'm gettin jealous!

[aknightstale41]

The next best thing to a hug button would probably be the yahoo chat room hug,
((((((((insert virtual hugee here)))))))

[Buffy]

Ok, Buffy---I'm gettin jealous!

LOL! You are one bad-ass adorable man!

[up10ad]

LOL! You are one bad-ass adorable man!
Gosh dangit Buffy, ignore them hun, this is my thread!

[Napoleon_PhoneApart]

God -- you can shoot me in the head now.

[Buffy]

God -- you can shoot me in the head now.

Oh stop. You are just as yummy!

[Napoleon_PhoneApart]

Oh stop. You are just as yummy!

I think you missed my point. All this sugar and sweetness is driving me into a diabetic coma -- and I'm not even diabetic!

[Buffy]

God -- you can shoot me in the head now.

What's wrong, Naps? You want in on the action,or just cranky? You know we love you, too.

[Starry]

God -- you can shoot me in the head now.

**BANG**
:laugh2:

[TarekElsakka]

Great reveal, Rick. I can't wait to buy and read your book. Oh and keep us updated of what you think of the new aluminum MacBook Air when you receive it :p.