Tales from a nonstandard career in operations research

This is a personal account of an unusual career in operations research. The author is both a researcher and a practitioner. Each of these aspects has benefited greatly from the other. In spite of the limited mathematical skills, the author has been able to contribute to OR theory. This paper is largely a collection of stories about the ideas the author has contributed and their often practical sources. It covers sequencing theory, bidding theory, queueing theory, and energy economics.