GO GAUCHOS! I also am a UCSB alum (class of '78) and worked with the net using Gopher and Wais before HTML was invented. UCSB was in the first 4 sites connected to the ARPANET. Good to hear from you. I still live in SB.
you're lucky to be living in SB, what a wonderful place! Hard to do any work, though, especially in the '60s and early '70s with the riots.