DAVID G. SIMPSON
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HOME TOWN
I'm originally from South Charleston, West Virginia. It was a great place to grow up, and it's still the only place that really seems like home. The town landmark is an Adena Indian burial mound that was constructed about 2000 years ago.I'm now living near Laurel, Maryland.
FAMILY
- mother, father, stepmother, stepfather
- 1 brother, 1 sister, 2 stepbrothers
PHOTO
CHURCHES
I've been a member of the South Charleston church since 1970. I attend the Maryland church locally.- Fourth Presbyterian Church, Bethesda, Maryland
- First Presbyterian Church of South Charleston, West Virginia
INTERESTS
Esperanto
Esperanto is an international language, developed by Dr. L.L. Zamenhof in 1887. It is used as a common second language, allowing people around the world to communicate easily. Esperanto is a very elegantly and logically constructed language, and very easy to learn compared to other languages.I've been interested in Esperanto since I was 15. I've written to Esperanto pen-pals all over the world, and have a library of Esperanto books at home.
Amateur Radio
I am an Amateur Extra class amateur radio operator, call sign KE3XN. My primary interest is radiotelegraphy (CW) on the high-frequency (HF) bands. I also hold a commercial Second Class Radiotelegraph Operator's Certificate, call sign T2GB071696.Distance Running
I have run a few distance races:- Parkersburg News & Sentinel Half Marathon - Parkersburg, WV (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006)
- Charleston Distance Run - Charleston, WV (2004, 2005, 2006)
- Twin Cities Marthon - Minneapolis, MN (2004)
- Mayor's Midnight Sun Marathon - Anchorage, AK (2005)
- Tucson Marathon - Tucson, AZ (2005)
- Casper Marathon - Casper, WY (2006)
Ballroom Dancing
I took ballroom dance lessons for about three years at a small local dance studio called A Classic Step. I completed a Bronze program and studied some at the Silver level. My favorites are the smooth dances - foxtrot, waltz, and tango. I also took some square dancing lessons for a while, but that was a few years ago.Cycling
I haven't done this for a few years, but I used to do some long-distance bike rides. I did all of these rides on a custom-built mid-1970s ten-speed bicycle that I got when I was in high school.- Cycle Across Maryland (1997, 1998)
- Seagull Century (1997)
Miscellaneous Interests
- American history
- Music - French horn
- First Responder
- Mineralogy
MISCELLANEOUS
S-M Comics
S-M Comics was a comic strip published by David Simpson and John Mellor at Village Elementary School in South Charleston, West Virginia during the 1972-73 school year.
Boy Scouts
I went through Cub Scouts, Webelos, and Boy Scouts, making it to Second Class. I was in Troop 242, Buckskin Council, West Virginia. It was a great experience, and the Boy Scouts is a great organization.
Hewlett-Packard Calculators
I learned computer programming by writing programs for Hewlett-Packard calculators in the 1970s — particularly for the HP-25 and HP-67. Writing programs for those calculators was excellent training for later writing assembly language software for the on-board computers of several NASA spacecraft: The Solar Maximum Mission, International Ultraviolet Explorer, Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer, and the Hubble Space Telescope. I still use HP calculators exclusively.
Moon Rocks
In 1976, I won first place in a national essay contest sponsored by NASA and Current Science magazine. The prize was having Dr. Michael Duke, lunar sample curator, come to our junior high school with a Moon rock display and a day of lectures.
South Charleston High School
One of my current interests is running the Web site for my high school class.
Contact Information
I may be contacted at: