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My Work In Technology
Professionally, aside from troubleshooting various computers (even outside the home and friend networks) and received handsome pay for it and building several computers for myself and others, I’m an editor, however little, for an online tech-news website called OSNews, concentrating on operating systems and open source but still being all-inclusive for just about anything newsworthy that happens in the tech-world.
I was also the treasurer and nerd on-call for the West Jordan High School choir program in 2008-2009. I used a Microsoft Access template and built an empire off of it, transforming an old-fashioned, error-encrusted regime of paper and Excel spreadsheets to a multifaceted, streamlined, custom-tailored database that tracks the funds of each student and automatically notifies them (and me) of any problems, upcoming or late payments, and more. It was such a hit that this database is still in use today– two generations of treasurers later. I also shared my work with another treasurer from Illinois, though I’m unsure if it’s in use at that school. If you’re interested in using this accounting database free of charge for non-profit situations (school groups, church groups, obsessive-compulsive support groups, etc.), feel free to contact me.
I like to help people with their technological problems as long as it’s a complicated problem that the person shouldn’t already know about; when people ask me something ridiculously simple such as how to copy and paste or something that I have no reason knowing such as “what does this mean in this program that I use constantly yet you’ve never seen in your life?” (to people who think we nerds magically know everything about every program even if we’ve never used it, see here), it gets a little tedious.
Lastly, I like to dabble in just about everything, though I especially (at least recently) like to concentrate on network infrastructure and web design and administration (not to mention finding the “perfect” operating system– right now I swing between Windows XP/Vista/7 and Linux Mint 9). I’m by no means a pro with either, but I can whip up a mean home network with ease and obviously can build a handsome website– though not too quickly there. CSS is a lifesaver (and I really hate Internet Explorer more than I ever have).
If my writing career isn’t lucrative enough, I plan to also work with computers, be it a sysadmin, network admin, shop owner, or what have we.
Preferences
Operating systems: Windows XP/Vista/7; Linux Mint
Processors: AMD (because more oomph can be juiced for the buck, not because Intel is crummy)
OEMs: HP (desktops, lappies, though I prefer to build my own desktops); ASUS (netbooks, laptops, various individual internal hardware)
Hard drives: Western Digital
Cases: Cooler Master
Retailers: Newegg! (BestBuy, Buy.com, OfficeMax/Depot, and Wal-Mart are almost always the worser deal, though eBay sometimes has what’s needed in new condition)
Technological entities to make fun of: BestBuy and its Geek Squad– aside from Jon Peterson, none of their associates know anything about what their customers assume they do; also, SCO has been a tech joke for a decade
Cell phone carriers: T-Mobile (I realize that all carriers are only out for our souls and care nothing about what we want except when it makes them money, but T-Mobile seems to be the most human– or should I say least human?– of them all. Plus they’re avid supporters of the Android platform, which I would prefer to use over the iPhone OS, but unfortunately I’m currently stuck).
Data rates: 1.5 Tbs
Anyway…
I’m always working on one technological project or another (all non-classified projects on a larger scale than merely adding new hardware to my compy are viewable to the public here), and I intend to always have a project like this going.
Technically, I’m a steampunk when it comes to style, though I prefer to be called a “retro-Victorian” as it sounds less degrading and more intelligent.
Finally, I used to be a somewhat obsessed gamer, though after my seventeenth birthday, I really didn’t like playing games by myself anymore. Zelda and Final Fantasy III will always be dear to my heart, but there isn’t enough time. Other games, such as Starcraft, Halo, any of the Battlefield series, and others, are all good fun, but only really when there’s a live person who I know personally to play with/against.
Posts Filed Under Technology
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