Thanks for visiting my web page. Here you'll find information on various topics that interest me. I hope to be able to share my interests with others and hopefully provoke some thought.
Since this site is dedicated to me and my interests, probably the best place to start is a little bit of information about me. I was born in 1970 in the small, South Alabama town of Opp. Other than being my birthplace, Opp is best known for it's annual Rattlesnake Rodeo. My family moved around some as I grew up. I graduated highschool in Atmore, AL. at Escambia Country High School. There I got my first real exposure to computers. Finally, my family settled in the small Central Alabama community of Weoka. I spent my first year and a quarter of college at Livingston University, now called the University of West Alabama, as a music major. Later, for various reasons I came back home and went to Auburn University at Montgomery majoring in MIS.
In 2004 some friends talked me into getting my amateur radio license. I haven't looked back. I really enjoy amateur radio. I've been able to mix my hobby with my profession, computer programmer, which has really enhanced my enjoyment of the hobby. I've since advanced all the way to Amateur Extra, the highest class license available in the U.S. I'm also a member of the Montgomery, ARRL and CAVEC VE teams.
One of the things that I really got interested in related to Amateur Radio is weather and public service. I'm a regular participant in Skywarn and an ARES member. My mobility issues prevent me from being deployed in the field but my amateur radio station is always available to assist in any way I can from home. With luck, they'll never need to call on me. I say that because if they do need to call on me it means something pretty bad has happened. However, should the need arise I'm here. As part of my interest in weather I operate a personal weather station. It submits data to CWOP and WeatherUnderground.
In addition to amateur radio, I really enjoy computer programming and creating web pages. The Lord has blessed me with a career in that area. I'm currently employed with the State of Alabama Department of Mental Health as a Programmer Analyst. In that capacity I've created and maintain several internal intranet sites as well as a couple of public facing sites used by clients of the department as well as our providers. So far it's been very rewarding knowing that my efforts have helped to improve service. One of the duties listed in my job description, and my favorite, is a requirement that I "participate in professional self development." This has allowed me to learn quite a bit and expand my knowledge in the Microsoft ASP.Net web development system.
Anyway, don't forget to sign my guestbook and thanks again for visiting.