I am Terry Ellsworth II, originally from Cadillac, Michigan and now live in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Currently, I am posted as an Information Systems Maintainer instructor at Naval Station Oceana- Dam Neck Annex where I teach electronics technicians computers.
Having used computers since the 80’s (since playing Number Munchers on an Apple IIe in 1987 at Sugnet), and working on them since 1992 (rebuilding my first Mac SE and Mac II), I have a lifelong passion for computing. I’ve served as a sysadmin both in and out of the Navy, and for a long time, had a side business of fixing computers on the side. However, once you have done everything you can do, you can either go into management, or teach. I chose the latter, as I can still work on equipment, and show people what I love.
So, I love working on antique and unique computers, from old Macs to Soviet Elektronika-BK’s, as well as everything in between. I also use computer-based machining equipment, as I am the proud owner and user of three 3D printers, a laser engraver, as well as a 3018 CNC mill, several welders, a plasma cutter, and a lathe Another thing that really interests me is the merging of mechanics and electronics. From working on cars with my dad and brothers, to being a boatbuilder before joining the Navy, seeing how electronics and mechanics works and combining the two is something I enjoy.
My educational background is this: I started school in Grade 2, graduated in 2001, and went to Michigan Career and Technical Institute to study Office Automation, which I did the full eight terms and attained my A+ and Network+ certifications in 2003. I joined the Navy in 2004 to get away from my provencal backwoods life, and currently in my 20th year of service, with more to go. I’m qualified to work on SINGCARS, Navy UHF systems, SPN-41/43, Sea Giraffe, NAVMACS, DCGS-N, and a few other systems that “we don’t talk about.” I went back to college at the University of Maryland and earned by BS in Computer Networks and Security in 2019. After being called to teach, I have completed my MAT in Secondary Education in 2024, and am currently working on my Ed.D in Curriculum and Instruction.
Interesting things:
I’m happily married, since 2012 to Heather, a red-haired history teacher who speaks Russian and spent a semester in Russia, and I have two red-haired kids, a ten-year old son and an eight-year old daughter. My son loves art and animation, my daughter likes to do gymnastics and work on things in the garage with me.
I do not like the summer- my favorite season is the winter. Though I have been more tolerant of the summer the longer I’ve lived in Virginia, it’s still not my favorite. That, and I forge knives during Virginia’s obscenely warm winters.
I’m the seventh of fifteen siblings, from a quadruple-blended family. My oldest sibling is 64, my youngest is 24. Of my mother’s kids, I’m the oldest, and of my father’s kids, I’m the oldest. My five older siblings (still alive) are from my first stepmother, and my deceased sibling is from my second stepmother. The remaining are younger than me, including my only sibling who have both the same mother and father as me. Two other siblings were found on 23andme.
I have enough tools in my garage to make just about anything I want to- and I do. My wife runs a high school theater program along with teaching World History, and often times, I wind up either helping make props, or just making them (especially if it involves welding)
For as much as I love technology, I also like repairability first and foremost. The new cars I see don’t interest me, and honestly, two of my favorite cars I drove is a 1983 Lada Niva (The first car I owned, but registered as an ORV), and a 1999 Fiat Multipla. My dream car is one I owned- a custom build-to-order 2012 Ford Focus. However, because I learned how to drive on rear-wheel drive cars, my driving often makes my wife vomit when I take corners.
I speak and read/write in Russian, and also can read French well, and Romanian decently.
I’ve served in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2007-2008, and was in Bahrain during Operation Allies Refuge in 2021.
