After spending a few more years than I care to admit in the I.T. field (PC/network/database/systems support up through Operations Director) I was offered the chance to join an Engineering team.  It was hard to say "no."  This was an opportunity to participate in the beginning of the pipeline.  A chance to create instead of just dealing with the end of the pipeline where the product is deployed, consumed and supported.

The last 6 years have been a constant, fantastic learning experience.  A mixture of application/tools development, DevOps work, and a large dose of product direction, requirements gathering and documentation, opening tickets for the team, and assisting with their completion.

I should have been one of those people born with a keyboard in their hands.  Outside of work I'm still a huge computer geek, and aside from front- and back-end development of my own software for fun and learning, I'm extremely interested in the physical side of computers...specifically the ways we interact with them, and by extension, robotic extensions (autonomous or not).

I've also been caught off the beaten path with my camera in hand, just waiting/searching for that "perfect" shot.  Landscapes have always been an interest of mine.  In particular, Moab, UT, its national parks (Arches and Canyonlands, Zion and Bryce in particular) and its gorgeous natural arches (inside and ouside of the parks) are favorites of mine.

One other thing...I have a huge love of music.  After getting a BS in Music Performance, I took a very long break from playing and performing (I once spent the summer hosting/headling an open-mic night with a friend.  My CD collection is fairly large and I'm always working on collecting and appreciating most genres of music (folk, acoustic, 70's/80's rock, new age, etc.). I'm bringing several of my interests together by investigating the world of recording and mixing my own creations.