It's All About the Pentiums

There are 10 types of people in this world, those that understand binary, and those that don’t.  I am a major geek, not a nerd, nor a hacker, I’m just a geek. Why a geek? Because most geeks are adept with computers and treat hacker as a term of respect, but not all are hackers themselves – and some who are in fact hackers normally call themselves geeks , because they (quite properly) regard `hacker’ as a label that should be bestowed by others rather than self-assumed.

So the question is, am I a geek, or am I a hacker?  Well considering the fact that you are reading this on a website I designed, developed, and launched myself, I leave the decision as to my digital nature up to your own gray matter.

How did I obtain my level 8 computational mastery?  Well it started at home really. My brother had a computer, an old 486 Tandy.  I loved that “state of the art” paperweight.  I started my first website back on AngelFire with that thing.  It sucked by today’s standards, hell it sucked by the standards of the day then, but it was enough to get me started on a path to geek enlightenment and salvation.

When I started at TSB I was excited to be in the computer class.  The school had newer Compaq computers.  This was back before HP absorbed them.  Anyway we had new computers, and access to the Internet. I used these “advanced” machines to truly sharpen my inner binary awareness.

Thanks to the help of Bill Schenk the computer instructor, I was able to really hone my skills with languages like basic HTML coding, VBasic, QBasic, .NET, and even the fundamentals of doing a clean install of windows 98SE on a laptop computer.

I grabbed onto the digital world with both hands and refused to let go.  The computer industry was calling my name and I didn’t even know it.  I was absorbing anything I could get my hands on.  I used to drive Mr. Schenk crazy with questions, and he did his best to meet the demands I placed upon his internal processor. All with a smile, and he didn’t even crash. Now that I look back at it he must have been running Linux.

I got so good that the staff started asking me to help with computer problems they were having.  I aced every lesson in the computer class we were taking.  I was asked to attend a computer teleconference that the school computer teacher was invited to.  It was clear that I had a natural talent for this stuff.  I started considering it as a future career.  When I graduated I did go on to study computer science, but I’m getting ahead of myself.  I still have to get through the rest of my high school career.

1. A Small History Lesson	2. Congratulations It’s A Freak
3. The First Five Years	4. It All Goes Up In Flames
5. School Daze	6. Say What?
7. A New Hope	8. Becoming A Sophisticated Redneck
9. A New Beginning – Literally	10. Back Into the Fray
11. They Like Me, They Really Like Me	12. 10011001
13. Let the Music Heal Your Soul	14. Taking My Sister to the Prom
15. My First Love, My First Broken Heart	16. From Zero to Hero
17. Livin’ On a Prayer	18. Moving On
19. Going Full Circle	20. The Rockford Files
21. Faith of the Heart	22. Partner, Friend, Lover, Wife
23. Turns Out She Was Right	24. A One-Legged Bear
25. Another Victim of the Game	26. Payin’ Bills with my Skills
27. A New Revell-ation	28. A New Page, A New Day
29. R We There Yet?