Mike and Vicki Simons' Personal Homepage

Copyrighted Page

BACK TO:
Probe Bio Graphics Probe Bio Text


This page is available only in graphics format.
	Mike is 33 and Vicki is 35. Mike and Vicki are both native Floridians. Mike hails from Tampa, Vicki from Hialeah. Our history, and how we met, is most unusual. We were married on October 12, 1991, in Kingsport, TN. We honeymooned in Gatlinburg, TN, the "Honeymoon Capital of the South." We do not yet have children.

(From the Apostle's Creed)

I believe in God the Father, Maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ, His Only Son;
I believe in the Virgin Birth.
I believe in the Man of Sorrows, bruised for inquities;
I believe in the Man Who was crucified and hung between two thieves.

I believe in the resurrection, on the third and glorious day;
And I believe in the empty tomb, and the stone that the angel rolled away.
He descended and set the captives free,
And now He sits at God's right hand, and prepares a place for me.

I believe He sent His Spirit to comfort and to reveal,
To lead us into truth and light, to baptize and to seal.
I believe that He will come back the way He went away,
To receive us all unto Himself, but no man knows the day.

I believe He is the Judge, of all men small and great;
The resurrected souls of men receive from Him their fate.
Some to death and some to life, some to their reward;
Some to sing eternal praise forever to our Lord.

This my creed--the witness I have heard;
The faith that has endured;
This truth is assured.
Through the darkest ages past;
Though persecuted, it will last,
And I will hold steadfast to this creed.



Top of Page


	We are both members of Grace Brethren Church of Aiken, and have been attending for 3 years.
The families at Grace Brethren Church are very friendly and extended a warm greeting to us when we first started coming. To this day, it is still the same way: families interacting with other families to make a difference in our community. Love and concern for each individual is what makes our church very special to us. We believe that all people are made in the image of God, and that outward appearances should not be the only judge of a person's character. Our church believes in the inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible, the sole standard of every Christian. Some of our denominational distinctives are mode of baptism, church government, and observance of Communion. Our times of worship are as follows: Sunday Morning: 10:00 a.m. Sunday School: 11:00 a.m. Sunday Evening: 6:00 p.m. Wednesday: 7:00 p.m. Precepts Bible Study: Wednesday, 7:00 p.m. Grace Groups: Determined by individual groups Vicki is active with the Youth Ministry Team, which performs drama and puppet skits on a regular basis. Mike participates in the music ministry by singing and playing bass guitar with the brass ensemble. He is also the facilitator of a monthly Promise Keeper's men's accountability group. Whenever you come to our lovely area, we invite you to join us for worship at the Lord's house, where you will be warmly received. For more information, Call/Fax 1-803-649-3967 or send e-mail to: Grace Brethren Church at Aiken
Top of Page


Aiken County is the largest geographic county in South Carolina. It also has the highest per capita income in the state. We reside south of New Ellenton, which is about 8 miles south of Aiken on SC 19.


Traveling time from Aiken, SC to larger cities (Times are approximate)
Augusta, GA Home of "The Masters" Golf Tournament	45 minutes
Columbia, SC The Capital City	1 hour
Charleston, SC	2 hours
Greenville, SC	2 hours
Charlotte, NC	2 hours
Atlanta, GA	3 hours


Traveling Distance from Aiken, SC to larger cities (Distances are approximate)
Washington, D.C.	550 miles
Dallas, TX	965 miles
Sacramento, CA	2700 miles
Vancouver, B.C.	3000 miles
Anchorage, AK	still uncalculated(!)

Top of Page


			Mike and Vicki own and operate Probe Consultants, a company dedicated to saving residential and commercial consumers money.
Mike is licensed to sell life, accident, and health insurance.
Top of Page


In December 1993, when 486 multimedia computers were becoming popular, we bought a mail-order IBM clone-box . Since then, we have upgraded our computer several times, primarily to keep pace with the Internet and our business website. We joke that we have a "bionic" computer: it is bigger, better, faster than it was before! The tables below show our computer specifications (before and after the upgrades) and the software we use frequently.

Our Computer	Before Upgrades	After Upgrades
Basic Computer	486 SX, 25 MHz	486 DX4, 120 MHz
Primary Hard Drive	Western Digital 211 MB	Seagate 2.1 GB
Secondary Hard Drive	None	Seagate 540 MB
Floppy Drives	3.5" & 5.25"	3.5"(new)& 5.25" (original)
Digital Tape Back-up	None	Conner Backup Exec (95 enabled)/3M TR-1 400 MB Minicartridge
CD-ROM	Single Speed, with caddy	6X, no caddy
Mouse	2-button	3-button Logitech (middle is auto-double click)
Modem	9600 Kbps	28800 Kbps modem/ 14400 Kbps fax
Random Access Memory (RAM)	4 MB	20 MB
Windows system	Windows 3.1	Windows 95

Our Software
Word Processing	Microsoft Word*
Spreadsheet	Microsoft Excel*
Database	Microsoft Access*
Presentation Graphics	Microsoft Powerpoint*
Time Management	Microsoft Schedule+
Internet Browser	Netscape Navigator 3.0
CD-ROM Graphics	Corel Graphics Pak
Graphics Design	JASC Paint Shop Pro 4.0
Anti-Virus	Norton with Maximum Internet Protection for Windows 95
* part of Microsoft Office Professional with Bookshelf for Windows 95

All of this is installed in a full-size tower. Our exclusive computer technician is Chris Zipperer, owner of Z.Com Computer Services in Aiken, SC, who has rendered invaluable assistance many times over.
Top of Page


	We drive a cute 1989 Toyota Tercel DX, that Vicki purchased new from a dealership in Kingsport, TN.
She affectionately named the car "Joshua", and he gets on average 30-33 mpg. In the almost 8 years Vicki has owned Joshua, he has had only 2 semi-major repairs. We strive to keep Joshua well maintained, changing the oil, oil filter and air filter regularly. We both have professional driving experience (about 3 years). Our last professional driving job was with U.S. Xpress, corporate offices of which are located in Tunnel Hill, GA. Being a husband and wife driving team was a tremendous experience. We've been in all states in the lower 48, we've been in Canada several times, and we've been less than 1/4 mile from the Mexico border. We have great respect for the men and women responsible for keeping America moving. After all, "Without trucks (and truck drivers), America stops." Our favorite trucker-specific publication is Truckers News
Top of Page

Since we drove cross-country for almost 3 years, we have been to a lot of restaurants nationwide. Most of them have been near or at truckstops, or located near or in Aiken, SC.

Truckstop restaurant food tends to be a little expensive. During our last year of cross-country driving, we purchased an AC/DC Inverter and began to cook food in our truck via crock pot. Since we were driving a Freightliner "Condo", we were able to store our food and cooking equipment under the lower bunk. We kept a good supply of canned foods and "instant" foods (rice, potatoes, oatmeal, etc.) on hand. After many burned out fuses, countless burned out DC cords (the name brand ones were no better than the generic), and 2 different Thermoelectric coolers (which by nature couldn't deliver a consistently cold interior temperature), we resorted to keeping our perishable foods on ice in an ice chest. Sure, we paid a small fortune for ice, but we ate like kings at our own leisure (not when the truckstop restaurants were serving). Our in-truck dining fare included chicken, barbeque chicken, pot roast, boneless turkey, sloppy joes, and baked potatoes.

Aiken, SC, Restaurants we like:
(Chinese)	Formosa Restaurant	969 Pine Log Road 29803	(803) 648-2030
(Steak House)	Ryan's Family Steak House	1928 Whiskey Road 29803	(803) 648-2629
(American)	Shoney's of Aiken	1909 Whiskey Road 29803	(803) 649-5371

Top of Page

There are very few foods that we don't like.

Mike's Top 5 Favorite Foods		Vicki's Top 5 Favorite Foods
Chicken (Fried, Baked-Honey-Mustard or BBQ)		Tuna Noodle Casserole
Steak/Baked Potato Combo		Steak/Baked Potato Combo
Seafood Stirfry		Seafood Stirfry
Beefaroni Goulash		Homemade Breads (Biscuits, Whole Wheat Bread, Yeast Rolls, Rye Bread)
Pork Steak/Mashed Potato Combo		Cottage Cheese

Top of Page



Top of Page