Who is this dude?
Some general information about me. Depending on your reason to this site you may find one of these tabs a good starting place. For more specific information please check out one of the other about me pages in the top menu drop down.
Retired United States Air Force and currently working fulltime fulfilling Network & System Admin, ISSM, and project management with a defense contractor. I also work part-time for a local computer shop (Computer Dreams LLC.) as the Network Specialist, Mac/Unic/PC Technician, and Small Business consultant. When I am not busy with one of those two jobs, I do freelance computer programming & development, computer security testing, network consultation, and a lot of tinkering. As you can imagine I like getting outdoors and away from technology just as much as I like working on it... we all need to recharge.
Starting from a young age I was fortunate enough to be exposed to technology that not many others were exposed to. Between playing with 8088 processors, IBM clones, TRS-80, and of course the commie 64, my father worked in telecommunications. This exposed me to not only the technology and its early uses, but also its potential uses and multiple ways to troubleshoot the underlying systems. From the basics of AC and DC voltage, modulation, logic, wired and wireless transmission principals, I toyed with all sorts of things that are now just simplistic building blocks to what we use today with modern technology.
Most of my web page and web applications were out of need. While I have had a few college courses that were required, I
was already making pages and web-based applications out of need for either a company I was working for or to just build
an idea. While I never consider myself a html-savvy coder, I manage to hold my own and can whip up some rather nice
pages that interface with back end systems like SQL, Java, or PHP. I also have made multiple static pages that are basic
and just meant to convey general information. If you are in need of a website please let me know what you are looking for
and I will get you a quote. Please understand that if I am working with, or employed by, any company that does webpages
at the time of the request that I will likely point you to their sales team first.
I started program in my pre-teens to the sound of BASIC on an Apple IIc and BASIC/QBasic on an 8088. For me that was the coolest thing
ever, to make a computer do what you told it, or at least partially. The first few things I attempted were influenced by War Games (Joshua)
and Space Oddessy (HAL 9000). I've since learned to program in C, C++, Java, PHP, JavaScript, bash scripting, dos batch, LSL (Linden
Scripting Language), PASCAL, HTML, XML, and a few others. While most of my programming is just tinkering, I enjoy cutting code and
creating programs for various solutions to problems. If you check out my Pico AI project you'll find I am still playing with the ideas
behind Sci-Fi AI's... although we are getting creepily close to the real things now... are you looking for custom applications? Let me know
and I will let you know if it's inside my realm to cater to the request.
I pieced together my first ground-up computer from computer swap meet parts to build an old 8088, followed by a 80286.
Those chips never really needed a cooling fan, but static would ruin them quick. On top of computer hardware I was also
tinkering with radio gear, specifically Ham Radio gear. I still have an old vacuum tube transceiver and an older 1928
RCA AM receiver that was revived. As a teen, you could probably imagine how happy I was to have a solder station, transisters,
vacuum tubes, and wire. Since then I've built some rather complicated ground-up systems between multi-processor servers,
gaming computers, robotics systems with Raspberry Pi's, and even a few elaborate bitcoin rigs for customers. If you are
looking for a custom build, please come see me at Computer Dreams LLC in Warner Robins on the weekends. Depending on the
request the computer can be designed in-house or for speciality rigs I may decide that it's better to work independant from
the shop.
Servers and PC's take a good amount of time to get set up correctly. Most of the systems I have set up have been
for small businesses and home use. Recently with my current employer I have to set up and manage servers handling
medium duty workloads (1000-2000 users plus specialty software). I've been more comfortable with linux for server
systems because I learned linux as my father was working on linux based systems for his employer in my youth. At
current I have set up and deployed servers and PCs running Linux, MacOS, Windows XP~10, Windows Server 2003~2019,
and hypervisors to host those systems. I think as hardware continues to advance, we may find more virtualization
for server systems and less bare metal systems as we can squeeze more out of a bare metal system. Small business
servers and quotes can be obtained directly from my through either this website or one of the social networking
sites that I use.
Computer networks and security has changed dramatically. This is more of a modern situation and will likely grow expenentially over
the years. When I built my first computer, most people were not putting any data of real value on their computers. Now
we put almost everything on computers. I've learned to tear apart virus' and scripts, trace network packets, and isolate
attempts at compromising networks. Encryption is a great answer, but as processing power increases, brute force hacks
become simpler. I continually find myself reading and testing different pen test methods and ensuring there are no
holes in network layouts that need to be secure. This becomes a nightmare in some cases where you have end-users that
demand they be allowed to use a corporate computer in the same manner they use their home computer... which may or may not
be crawling with virus' already... While I can assist in most situations regarding computer security strategies, for some
situation I may redirect you to an individual or group that is better suited depending on your scope of needs.
I've been working on networks since my pre-teen days. Linking computers via RS-232 and Token Ring networks is
quite outdated now, as is the dial-up modem. I have set up networks as simple as small office environments with
no server structure all the way up to full corporate networks to include dedicated DHCP, DNS, Active Directory
Domain Services, VLANs, VPNs to/from remote sites, and premise wiring layouts. If you are looking for consultation
for a business endevour or looking to upgrade your current network, let me know what your requirements and
expectations are, and I will work with you to get the system you need without adding additional costs that provide
you with no benefit.
Two of my interests includes Psychology and Music. Psychology I find important for the interaction with computing devices
at all levels (smart-phones, desktops, laptops, smart devices, etc.). Music is just good for the soul, but it's also a mathematical
equation of vibrations, nuances, and timing. I decided to take courses through Berklee College of Music and learned one thing fast though.
If you want to take the magic out of music... just study it for a few years. I've since intentionally forgotten a lot of music theory
for the purpose of finding joy in playing and writing, it's a mode of expressions, studying it ruined it for me.
I look a little different without my beard...