User:Amarand
After submitting my first piece to Wikimedia today, I decided that I should probably create a user page.
First and foremost, I am a computer guy, located in Galloway, Ohio, USA. Originally from the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts, I have also lived in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Giebelstadt, Germany.
I've been working with computers for around 34 years. As a child, I first worked on an Atari 400 learning LOGO, which made me extremely popular during recess. I owned the Commodore SuperPET, VIC-20 and C-64 in the years they were released, and was fluent in 6502 and 6509 assembly language. In high school, I worked with the PDP-11/70, teletypes, line printers and terminal displays; punch cards, paper tape and magnetic tape. In the mid-1980's, I tried to enjoy COBOL, Fortran, flowcharts and coding sheets; I failed. I was successful at learning various forms of BASIC, C, C++ and also entering pages of seemingly random strings of mind-numbing digits in 8-bit hexadecimal from the then-popular computer magazines of the day.
As a child, I successfully built a Heathkit alarm clock and other exciting projects. I know how to solder correctly, can tell which way the current flows in a diode and have intentionally blown the metal cap off of a capacitor without losing an eye.
At the age of 13, I saved all that I earned for a year, purchased a used SLR camera, and expended roll after roll of film until, years later, the camera was lost during a military deployment in the Middle East during Operation Provide Comfort.
Through my passion for computers and photography, I have progressively developed a love of graphic design, all forms of parody and typography - including an innate hatred for the Papyrus and Comic Sans typefaces.
Over the years, I have worked primarily as a UNIX and Linux systems administrator, focusing on keeping computers and people happy.
To quote Winston Wolf in Pulp Fiction: I solve problems.
In addition to my primary line of work, I have also functioned as an executive administrative assistant, a non-commissioned solider of the U.S. Army deployed during war and peacetime, and an amateur photographer.
I enjoy proper spelling and grammar, and have a love for the Oxford comma.
Although I don't generally include this in my list of top three favorite things (computers, photography and psychology), I very much enjoy computer security, networking, communications and teaching people how to fish (metaphorically).
I have been a vegan for 3 years, although I view this as a personal ethical choice, and will not look at you funny while you eat a steak. One of my major lifetime goals is to learn how to make high-quality analogue foods that are vegan, but are really hard to differentiate from the "real thing."
Oh, and I make fun of people who use air quotes too frequently.
Last but certainly not least, I am a Technician Class licensed Amateur Radio Operator ("Ham") who learned Morse Code back when it was required, and have held a valid FCC-issued Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit since 1988.