He studied electronics and was one of the first ones who began working with computers during the communistic era. He repaired both western IBM machines and soviet and polish copies of PC AT/XT standard. He played noughts and crosses with colleagues on them. He came across Fortran and Cobol programming languages.
He and his colleagues organized computer skills trainings for foresters from allied soviet states. Even though he was the chief of the computer department, communists gave him a forester uniform to show than an ordinary forester can use a computer as a master. Afterwards he wore the uniform when he went to a station of Public Security (a name for a police force throughout communistic regime). When comrades saw him at the station in the uniform, talking to them was easier. They thought he was one of them because of the uniform.
He went to study university to England in 1968/9. However, he was warned by the communistic regime to return when the regime tightened up. He wanted to stay there but he decided to return as his wife was in the Czechoslovakia. He can use technical English very well, but can’t speak it as good.
He photographed for archbishopric. He saw places where he couldn’t get as an ordinary citizen, especially to churches. He mentioned that burgling churches was a big problem after the Velvet revolution and a lot of property inside the churches was stolen. It doesn’t happen anymore nowadays because of better security.
Czech Steve Jobs.
