About

Sup-a-Dillie-O!!!

…which loosely translated is “Warmest greetings to you friend!”

I realize there are tons of places you can go to on the net these days, so the fact that you’re checking out the about page means something has stuck and I appreciate that. We all have stories (as I’m learning more and more) so I’ll share mine in hopes that I can learn more about yours.

I grew up in a small desert town out by Joshua Tree National Park. It was a great place to be able to explore all day, ride bikes, and build odd forts in empty lots. I still keep in touch with some of my friends there to this day. They are probably the closest ones I have.

I fell in love with computers right away. I went down to my aunt’s house one day and spent all day making signs on an IBM 286 with a program called “Print Shop.” I was hooked! That Christmas I received their Texas Instruments TI-99/4A as a present. This was a dream come true! There were only two games on it, so I started digging into the the programming books that came with the box. I instantly found my passion in life. Being able to create something, even digitally, like a ball bouncing around the screen was amazing. I could then share it with my parents and explain (very simplisticly) how it works was candy. I can’t say I created too many programs back then, but I was hooked. Sadly I sold that computer at a garage sale for $40 when I was in 6th grade.

I begged and begged to get a “newer” computer when I was in 8th grade. It’s crazy to think how expensive they were in those days, even for the simple ones. May parents were very gracious and were able to cobble one up, and I slowly started upgrading it. I put a modem in (they used to sell those at Costco you know) as well as a Sound Blaster Pro. Programming still hadn’t fully kicked in, but I was involved with the local BBS group and started “engineering” my computer for online chats with people and helping a few of my friends out.

Fast forward a few more years and I’m in college, with a Computer Engineering and Computer Science major. Along the way, I was able to participate in a great books, Oxford style program that made me realize that there was a lot more “there there” than just 1s and 0s. From then on I made a point to seek out bonum, veritas, and pulcher: goodness, truth, and beauty. For good measure I threw in techne: technology.

So that brings us to today. By day I’m a senior software engineer for a great consulting firm that is making some great applications for some great companies. By night I’m a java overlord (of the coffee persuasion), CCG junkie, spider killer for my wife, and silly daddy to my twin daughters.

What are you going to find here? I’m going to share with you the discoveries I make along the way with coding. I’m also going to share with you some various reflections on life, the universe, and a few things in between. Hopefully I’ll strike a balance between the two, but I’ll probably stray to one or the other depending on what season I’m in. I look forward to hearing your 10 bits in the comments!