About This Site
What will I find here?
You'll find the best selections from among the hundreds of online things I discover each week collected here, as well as my music and other materials. Topics covered largely reflect my own interests, which are somewhat diverse. I hope you'll check out the Reading Room and Blog so that you can take a look for yourself. As a technology educator, computer enthusiast geek, and avid Internet user, it should come as no surprise that the things I select will often relate to technology.
There are several other online projects I'd like to explore, and this site will certainly connect to them in some way, or serve as a testing ground as I work.
Why was this site created?
I am constantly delighted by the things I come across online, from the absurd to the sublime, and want to share it with you. This site is partly my attempt to give back a bit of the good I've received from people contributing things online as well. Lastly, it's also a place for me to work on improving my communication, teaching, and technology skills.
Why this format?
I come across so much cool stuff online, and realize that I do a lot more surfing than most of the "normal" people I know. It seems as though just about every day I'm emailing someone (ahem, at their request) to let them know about a web site or online article that I think they might like. I'm also always asked if I've found anything good online lately. This site allows me to share what I consider to be the best of all of the great stuff I discover online each week, all in one place.
About Me
I'm 39 years old, live and work in the capitol region of Hartford, Connecticut, and enjoy a wide range of activities and interests. I work as a technology educator (grades 6 - 12) and Systems Administrator at a school in Hartford, and when time allows I like to volunteer, providing technology training and consulting services to nonprofit organizations. I'm also a part-time student at the University of Hartford.
From the moment I persuaded my poor, hounded mother to get me a VIC-20 computer in 1981, I was completely hooked on these things. An Atari 800XL followed in 1983, and my first 286 Clone in 1986. Currently I work with both a 24" Core 2 Duo iMac (including Windows XP and Ubuntu virtual machines) running OS X Leopard, a 13" Black Core 2 Duo Apple MacBook running Leopard, and an MSI Wind Netbook running Windows XP. I've really been converted to the benefits of running Windows on a Mac, and am also a big supporter of Open Source software.
In 1987 I wrote my first "professional" database working part-time for a local college. That year I also crossed the line from user to publisher when I briefly ran a FidoNet bulletin board on my home PC. As I got into the Internet in the early 90's, I remember my response when a friend showed me the (non-graphical) World Wide Web for the first time. With absolute conviction, I stated that I thought it would never last... I hope I've learned a bit since then.
I've worked as a Research Analyst for a major computer magazine publisher, developed training and registration systems for the trade show industry, and conducted technology workshops and seminars for business professionals. My current job, though, is best of all. I left the corporate world to teach technology skills to high school students. It's a tremendous challenge and I consider it an honor to have been given this opportunity, and I find that I enjoy my professional life more than ever.
Thank goodness, there's more to my life than technology. I'm also into current events, history, and politics, and so I try my best to keep up with everything that's happening in our world. I love music of all types -- listening to it, watching live performances, and even attempting to make my own stuff. Comics, science fiction and animation are way up there on my list, too, including Japanese anime and manga. More active stuff like hiking, geocaching, and Dance Dance Revolution keeps me a little less pale and pudgy than I think I'd otherwise be, but I definitely still have to work on that.