Where have I roamed?

I was born in the year of the Dragon in Adelaide, Australia. At present I live and work in Canberra, Australia. I have been on holidays to :

2019 - Papua New Guinea
2018 - New Caledonia & Vanuatu
2006 European Tour Travel Photos
2006 - Europe - (England, Scotland, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Italy, Vatican City, Switzerland, Spain, France, and Monaco)
2006 - Singapore
2005 - Western Australia (Perth)
2004 - North Queensland (Brisbane, Mackay, Rockhampton, Townsville & Cairns)
2002 - North Queensland (Brisbane)
2001 - Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur)
2000 - Malaysia (Up west coast & down east coast) & Singapore
1996 - Philippines (Manila)
1996 - USA (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Reno & Hawaii)
1979 - New Caledonia

Well, 2006 was the grand invasion of Europe! AKA Ross's Big Adventure but where to next ????

What do I do for fun?

At night, I conquer worlds, storm ships on fire off Orion's belt, walk with Giants, and stroll in the realms of the Sidhe. I played Howard, the kleptomaniac Hobbit in Andrew's Game, and Risus, a sturdy Dwarven fighter in Dominic's Game which I also chronicled. These games are all part of the Dungeons & Dragons realms of roleplaying games. Many years ago I also played, Paygor in Dave's Runequest game which he has recently chronicled and placed on the internet.

As well these table games, I have a growing interest in German family style boardgames. These types of games are becoming increasingly popular, they can be viewed at Boardgamesarefun. The games I own can be seen at Ross's games. When I arrived in Canberra I would regularly play games such as World in Flames {World War II} and Empires in Arms {The Napoleonic Wars}. Before coming to Canberra I was involved in the making and painting of armies of model soldiers. These models were used for figure wargames enabling the re-enactment of past battles, on a miniature scale, from any of the era's of history. I was part of a society that was involved in running regular campaigns and battles using these miniatures at Group North Historical Wargames Society.

I also like to develop websites. Many years ago my single homepage was used as a portal to sites useful for work purposes, it provided links as the internet was emerging and proved to be a useful tool. These pages are directed to patents and patent searching.

The websites I have developed are;

• irossco [Personal Homepage]
• militaryfocus [Osprey Military History Books]
• animebathhouse [Japanese Anime]
• howtomixcocktails [Cocktail Mixing]
• boardgamesarefun [German Style Family Board Games]

Each website has a familiar look and feel, and as my skills have increased I have developed more complex website programming skills. Having started with standard html pages, to now using 'server side include functions' like php to autopopulate changes across the website by simply updating one file. As well as using the backend SQL server database running PERL, and using SQL calls to the database coupled with SQL information sorting commands to retrieve information to fill variables in the php files and generate the html that is viewed.

What do I do for exercise?

In August 2004 I was introduced to and started the 12 week body for life program by Bill Phillips. More information on this program is available at Body for Life and the book can be found here. It is a combination of a great short, but intense, workout coupled with a eating program and runs over 12 weeks. When a program mandates six meals a day how can you go wrong! As for the before and after pictures, well let me finish the program before I think about putting them up.

I am continuing my individual fitness sessions at Erindale Gym with their Body Combat and Body Pump classes. They give you a great work out and are rather fun. Prior to starting these I did do a gym circuit which consisted of a weights routine followed by the track machine and the bike. I did years ago play soccer, indoor soccer, as well as doing some running and swimming. Before this, many years ago, I did Wing Chun Kung Fu.

What do I do read, watch and listen to?

I mostly read science fiction and fantasy books and just about any books I can find that provide guidance on investing in stocks and investing in general. My favourite books include Dune, The Ship Who Sang, The Silmarillion, Sword of the Demon, as well as The Dragonlance Saga, and The Stormbringer Saga.

Again when it comes to films, I like science fiction, fantasy, and also scary movies. My favourite films include Alien, Aliens, Caddyshack, Dune, Galaxy Quest, Groundhog Day, Labyrinth, Lara Croft, Lifeforce, Leon - The Professional, La Femme Nikita, Star Trek I, The Terminator, Terminator II and Animes like Tenchi Muyo, Magic User's Club, Neon Genesis Evangelion and Ghost in the Shell.

Music, I like it all. My favourite artists include The Bangles, Dire Straits, Roberta Flack, Madonna, Nirvana, Queen, Whitney Houston. I like some soundtracks such as The Breakfast Club.

What did I do for work?

I was employed by the Commonwealth as an Examiner of Patents between 1988-2019. In that capacity I analysed patent applications looking at whether they addressed the requirements as specified under the Australian Patent Act 1990. I assessed whether those applications are drafted such that they satisfied the legal requirements. I analysed the claims of a patent application and prepared detailed responses to highlight any failing of the application. I looked particularly at the clarity, descriptive support, and novelty of the claims with respect to any prior disclosure documents.

I would precisely index those applications into the International Patent Classification (IPC) system and conducted detailed patent searches to find prior art disclosures. I was able to find in the wealth of the patent databases, prior disclosures that were highly relevant and required the patent applicant to narrow their claimed monopoly. When I was satisfied that the application met the minimum criteria, I exercised my delegation to accept the application, this lead to the grant of an Australian patent.

I examined in the electrical and electronic fields and, in particular, mobile phone and telecommunications systems, GPS and antennas, digital communications, computing, and television systems.

And finally I continued my studies and completed a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in 2001. Since then I have been directing my energies to different fields of study and interest.

What are my qualifications?