What’s this blog about?

USS Nimitz (CVN-68) underway in the Persian Gulf with Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9, 23 March 1993, enforcing the no-fly zone against Iraq on the first day of Operation Southern Watch. US Navy photo by PH2 Tim Tow. Naval History & Heritage Command (NH&HC), photo # NH 106554-KN. https://www.history.navy.mil/

From a young age, I’ve been fascinated by computers and technology. It all started back in 7th grade when I took a “computers” course and was introduced to Applesoft BASIC on the Apple IIe. While I didn’t initially envision a career in this field, that all changed about 13 years later when I decided to chart a new path after my time in the U.S. Navy.

The dotcom bubble hadn’t burst when I got to shore duty and companies were clamoring to hire people with computer skills. Junior-level IT roles were paying 2–3 times what I was making in the military as an E6. I picked the thing that I was most familiar with and interested me the most, and went with it. I set my target on getting the highest level Microsoft certifications available before the end of my obligated service contract. At the time, that was Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer + Internet.

I met my goal by the time I got out. I had my certifications and three years of hands-on, practical experience with Windows NT. Opportunity met preparation when an old Navy buddy passed my resume to a fellow Microsoftie, who was also a Navy veteran, who offered me a contract role, starting, what is now a 20+ year career in tech.

The U.S. Navy provided me with a strong technical foundation that would serve me well in my future career. I served as an Electronic Warfare technician (The EW rating was merged into Cryptologic Technician (Technical) (CTT) in 2003, two years after I left the service) which provided me with valuable skills in areas like ELINT, OPSEC, Electronic engineering theory, troubleshooting, and maintenance. These foundational capabilities, combined with the additional skills I’ve developed over 20+ years of working on large-scale systems, have all been integral to my lifelong passion for understanding how technology works.

So, what’s this blog about?

I’m starting with topics at the intersection of my professional career and personal interests. Which is broad yet narrowly focused around tech and engineering. I don’t intend to limit myself to just those topics either. Ultimately, time will tell because it will depend on what I enjoy writing about the most and what kind of response I get from readers.

Fun fact: I was on the USS Nimitz when the photo in this post was taken. I know where I was on March 23, 1993. Do you?