The Worlds of John Van Stry

A Few Words and a Couple of Pictures


My USAF days of Flying
'Hero' pic

My old Harley
'Evil Twin'

My Zed
My ZZR1200 (current)

My Zed

My Monster

My Monster

So, I went to college for Electrical Engineering and got a BSEE. I joined the USAF while there and did a little flying. After that I worked in Robotics, then in aerospace as a Flight Test Engineer for Grumman Aerospace, then General Dynamics, then Lockheed. Somewhere in there I bought a cougar and moved up to Oregon. When I left aerospace I ended up in the medical devices industry as a Quality and Test engineer for a research and development group, then Tektronix, then I went into contracting, succumbing to the lure of the money. Also, big cats eat a lot, and I had several by then.

You don't even want to imagine what my feed bills looked like, I had my own account with a wholesale meat supplier and bought a van just to haul it.

Eventually, I ended up in California again, and circumstances have had me here longer than I would have preferred (but with all the crazy laws and taxes that problably won't be for much longer - Note: I now live in Texas). As a QA and Test guy I've been pretty lucky, I've worked on a lot of bleeding edge technology and got to work on stuff that a lot of people said couldn't be done. I've seen some truely amazing stuff and worked with some serious geniuses. Then again, I've worked with a few psycho's along the way as well.

Writing is something I've always done, mainly for enjoyment. I'd written for a few different fanzines and small press outlets in the past, and when I received a Kindle as a gift I decided to join the ranks of the indie authors and offered up some of my own stuff for sale as well. The response was surprising, so I figured I'd stay with it for a while. Then in 2014 things really took off, and I started to make serious money at it. As my contracting often had me traveling away from home for long periods of time, something I was starting to get tired of, in the summer of 2015 I decided to concentrate full time on my writing and see if I couldn't make a go of it.

The jet picture: Yes that's me. Hard to believe I was that young once.

The bike pictures: I love motorcycles and would have more than Jay Leno if I could afford to. I've had a lot over the years, usually more than one, but my 2003 ZZR is my favorite and I doubt I'll ever sell it.

Yes, I have other hobby's, and you probably don't really care.

The Reno Air Races: Yes I go every year, I've been going a while now. Yes I was there for the crash in '11, I was close enough that I am lucky to not have been injured. It was a fluke and a tragedy and I still go every year (Box A68 if you go!). I refuse to live in fear of random accidents. Hell, I refuse to live in fear of damn near anything, otherwise I would have stopped riding after the last car hit me!

Last of all, I maintain a firm belief that anybody can do anything, if they put their mind and their will to it. I'm living proof of that.

Me in John Day Oregon, 2014

Kianna 5 months
Proud dad


Kianna


Sheena


Nepal

 

kitty

looking outside

relaxing

kitty

My Zed
My Vulcan SE (current)

My Zed
Me on a bike trip

My Zed
My old ducati monster

My Zed
My old Honda Shadow 1100

 

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