September 2024

Been having a blast with generative AI lately, but now I'm getting really curious about automation. Decided to take the plunge and installed n8n and Ollama to start experimenting. It's exciting to think about how these tools might streamline some of my freelance work. Can't wait to see what kind of time-saving magic I can conjure up with these!

August 2024

After all these years, I've finally ditched Plex. The final straw was getting locked out of my own server for the umpteenth time. Installed Jellyfin and I'm amazed at how fast and simple it is. Kinda reminds me of the old Plex, back when I first set it up in 2009. It's funny how things come full circle sometimes. Nice to see there are still good, open-source alternatives out there.

May 2024

Set up a multi-tier network at home with SIEM, SQL, and web servers. It's probably overkill, but it was fun figuring out how to make everything work together securely. Reminds me of the complex setups we had back at the Las Vegas Hilton, but on a much smaller scale.

January 2024

Decided to try something new - set up my first non-ColdFusion web server. Also starting to learn Python. It's always exciting to explore new technologies, even after all these years since leaving the field professionally!

December 2023

Diving into the world of AI - playing around with GPTs, MidJourney, and DALL-E. It's amazing how quickly this field is evolving. Thinking about how to incorporate these into my freelance projects.

October 2023

Installed a SIEM on an old laptop, then got curious and set one up in the cloud too. Now I'm monitoring my home machines and cloud servers. Probably unnecessary, but it's interesting to see what's going on behind the scenes

September 2023

Experimenting with Linode, Apache, and Lucee. Cloud hosting has come a long way since I started tinkering with servers back in my Novell days.

May 2023

Repurposed an old laptop as a Type 1 Hypervisor. It's fascinating how you can breathe new life into old hardware with the right software. Reminds me of the creative solutions we came up with at TecStar Systems.

April 2023

Moved my Plex Media Server from CentOS Desktop to Ubuntu Server. The improvement in 4K playback is impressive - no more buffering!

2021

Developed a sudden interest in cheese. Started a small project called DailyCheese - who knew my tech hobbies and food interests would intersect?

2019

Got really into coffee. Spent way too much time researching different beans and brewing methods. A nice distraction from the usual coding work.

2016

Turned my GTA car speed spreadsheet into an online database. It's fun to see how a simple personal project can grow over time. A fun side project while I was doing medical coding and billing.

2014

Decided to see if I could switch entirely to Linux. Photoshop withdrawal was real but discovered some great open-source alternatives. This experiment happened while I was transitioning into medical coding in Austin.

2009

Set up my first Plex Media Server. It's amazing how much easier it's become to manage a personal media collection.

2005

Spent a lot of time working with ColdFusion, SQL, and EDI. The web development world was changing rapidly, and it was exciting to be part of it.

1996

Started playing with this new thing called ColdFusion, along with SQL and HTML. The internet felt like a whole new world of possibilities. This was just before I started focusing on the publishing industry - little did I know how much these skills would shape my career later.

1993

Got my hands on Clipper, EDI, and Novell Netware at TecStar Systems. Creating executable databases felt like magic at the time.

1992

Learned about Birmy Imagesetters, 4-color separations, and desktop publishing software at Las Vegas Hilton. It's incredible how much the printing and design industry has changed since then.

1989

First encounter with dbase. Databases seemed so cutting-edge at the time. This was before my professional tech career started, just personal exploration.

1985

My first real foray into computing - tinkering with BASIC and Lotus 1-2-3 on a PC/XT 8088. Those were simpler times, but no less exciting. Just a hobby back then, never imagined it would turn into a career!