 |
 |
|
|
|
|
I've always been a dual career kinda guy. I never could hold a job that wasn't my hobby, but I've done pretty well for myself as a programmer (25 years at Bell Labs, now free-lancing) and musician (Pedal Steel Guitar, Dobro and Keyboards). I do sing a bit, but it's definitely not my forte (I can prove it!). I write the occasional song here an' there, though I'm far from prolific. I'm mainly a sideman, priding myself on my ability to provide tasteful accompaniment, and to do so ad-lib, without rehearsal if need be (though I do read music, both standard notation and [Nashville-style] charts). If you have a recording project in need of pedal steel and/or dobro tracks, please lemme know!
As a programmer, I enjoy working in C, C++, Java, Python, HTML, Javascript, and other languages, but I specialize in language independent Object Oriented architecture and design work. My former long time employer, AT&T (and later, Lucent) Bell Labs, was once a highly reputed, rather prestigious organization. It was where the transistor, the Laser and DSL (high speed data over phone lines) where invented, in the physics realm, and in software, employed the creators of the widely used C and C++ programming languages (by Dennis Ritchie and Bjarne Stroustrup, respectively), and the Unix operating system (by Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson) - the birthplace of the Internet. The increasingly popular operating system Linux is a clone of Unix, and is the system which I use almost exclusively (I'm decidedly not a fan of MS Windows!), and Unix is also the underlying platform upon which MacOS X runs. A sadly under appreciated fact is that the number of Internet servers running Windows pales in comparison with those running either Linux or Unix.
I was delighted to learn that the 2009 Noble Prize in Physics was awarded to two more Bell Labs alumni for the invention of the Charge Coupled Device. This is the photo sensitive mechanism that's makes possible digital cameras, video cameras, modern telescopes (including the Hubble!), and more. It's so sad that U.S. companies nowadays rarely value pure research, without an expected financial gain. It's indicative that Bell Labs (such as it is...) does very little pure research nowadays (though you can still get the innovative, experimental Plan 9 operating system from them), and is now owned by a French company, Alcatel.
I also do computer consulting
. I can fix most kinds of problems you may be experiencing on Windows, Linux or Unix - performance problems, data recovery, practical backup solutions, operating system configuration, ..., but my specialty is saving you money by showing you how to deploy freely available software for your computing tasks. Why pay Microsoft and other vendors huge sums of money, when most likely the work their software is doing for can be done using robust, reliable programs that are available without cost!? It may sound too good to be true, but it isn't! You may or may not have heard of the Open Source Software movement. For information about this type of software and what it can do for you, please contact me. It won't cost you anything to learn more.
I'm among the aging Baby Boomers who still consider ourselves to be Hippies. I dig Peace and Love, and abhor violence in all forms.
There's a small page about me at My Space.
Living the mountains of Colorado - the foothills above Denver, specifically - nourishes my spirit. I own a small home on a couple of acres in a fabulous little town called Evergreen, and I love having deer, elk and foxes for neighbors.
My passions include music-Music-MUSIC, software design and creation, bicycling, hiking, camping, canoe paddling, sailing, ice skating, photography) and reading. I fancy myself a fair small craft sailor, and though I don't presently own a sail boat, I like to rent one on occasional trips to the ocean. I do own my own canoe. I adore the visual arts, though I'm not a practitioner save that I sometimes wield an SLR camera (with decidedly mixed results), some of the best of which (IMHO) I invite you to check out an' to download for use as computer desktop wallpapers should you care to.
Favorite authors include Richard Dawkins, Tim Dorsey, Bill Fitzhugh, Douglas Hofstadter, Carl Hiaasen, Tony Hillerman, Brian Kernighan, Carl Sagan and (fellow Coloradan) Stephen White.
I'm an enthusiastic NPR listener, rather a bit of a news junkie - I always wanna be an educated voter. My politics are decidedly left of center. I'm appalled at what passes for "news" on television (in fact, I'm amazed that any of the crap I've seen on TV has any popularity at all - it kinda scares me regarding the state of affairs generally in the United States...). I only relatively recently became a television set owner, acquired in tandem with a DVD/Blu-Ray player (I do like a lot of movies). The thing serves primarily as my computer monitor - looks good, too! (High Def broadcast TV and movies, and 1920x1080 pixel resolution.)
I can often be found exploring Second Life, where my Avatar's name is Nottan Emmons (steel guitar enthusiasts will likely be aware of acclaimed [real world] pedal steel master Buddy Emmons...). Most of my time in SL is spent at live music concert venues, and I occasionally perform in-world myself.
I'm amicably divorced, but still very close to my former spouse and my step children (who I met when they were already young adults) and step grandchildren, all of whom I will always love deeply. Although I have great respect and admiration for those who are truly devoted and careful parents, I knew from a very early age that I personally did not ever want to go pissing in the gene pool.
Thanks very much for your interest. I'd love to hear about you at tonyrowe-at-ToeKneeRow.com (Yes, my name is all words: two body parts and a water sport!).
Best, always!
