Mark A. Billy

I am a Catholic libertarian and an engineering project manager with an MS in Astronautical Engineering. I am currently employed by a major turbine engine manufacturer. My occupational background includes involvement in a wide variety of engineering and analytical efforts.

I've always enjoyed maintaining and modifying my own vehicles. The effort described in "The Art of Diesel: Building an Efficient Family Hauler" was a very enjoyable project because it engaged and exercised several portions of my personality:

1. Independence: If something isn't right, I look to a larger community for answers, but I take matters into my own hands to fix my problem.

2. Planning and Analysis: I enjoy determining how to make something work and doing the analysis needed to compare different options.

3. Hands-on: I enjoy picking up the tools and exercising my will over matter by turning materials into useful objects. I also enjoy re-purposing existing items to serve my purposes. I truly enjoy the satisfaction of using what I've built.

4. Ownership and Liberty: I believe that ownership of property and one's self are the primary ingredients of liberty. I decide how I will live my life and what will be done with my property. I live with the benefits and/or consequences of my decisions, and they belong to nobody else. Further, I don't feel like I truly own something until I've modified it.

5. Sharing: I am an extrovert, and everything is more enjoyable when I can share it with a larger audience. Readers can choose to do something similar to my project, pull lessons from what I've done to do something else, or simply appreciate what I've done.

To me, the act of building this machine was an exercise in liberty and was very satisfying. I thank God for the abilities He has given me and the fortitude to see a project through to its end.