About

Screenshot from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. So your name is John? I see... Not the easiest name to say, is it?

Who Am I?

I like to write code, both professionally and as a hobby. I enjoy designing and implementing efficient and elegant solutions, whether building full end-to-end applications or crafting smaller scripts and utilities. I have a BS and MS in Computer Science, and I hold PMP and CISSP certifications.

I’ve spent my career working in technology, helping teams plan, build, and run systems that get things done. My experience spans software engineering, operations, portfolio planning, and business management, often at the intersection of technology, data, and process, where I focus on making things simpler and more effective.

Over the years, I’ve contributed to modernization projects, system integrations, and organizational change, often using data, automation, and tools to improve visibility and decision-making. I enjoy finding ways to make complex systems and processes easier to understand and use, whether through dashboards, models, or workflows.

Even with leadership and management responsibilities, I’ve stayed close to the technology itself. I still write code, build tools, automate tasks, and experiment with new ideas. That hands-on curiosity first drew me to computers and programming, and it continues to shape how I solve problems today.

AI generated illustration of three stacked comic panels showing a woman and man at a scenic outdoor café. In the first panel she asks what he does for a living and he replies that he writes code. In the second panel she asks what he does for fun and he happily answers that he writes code. In the final panel, the woman looks bewildered while the man smiles bashfully.

My first computer was an IBM PS/1. It had an Intel 80286 running at 10 MHz, 1 MB of RAM (upgraded from 512 KB), and a 30 MB hard drive. It came with King’s Quest IV and Where in the U.S.A. Is Carmen Sandiego? on multiple floppy disks. Until then, my only experience with computer games was Oregon Trail on an Apple IIGS at school, which we could only use once a year. I was fortunate to also have a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), but computer games were different. They required careful configuration and some PC knowledge to get running, but they were also fascinating because you could explore and examine the game files. While the NES was perfect for gaming, the computer was great for both gaming and tinkering.

Screenshot of the opening screen from King’s Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella. — The adventure begins! Opening screen from King’s Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella.

I started programming around age 12 when I found a QBasic game called Gorillas (gorillas.bas). I had upgraded to MS-DOS 6.0, and the game was buried somewhere in the file system. It was the first time I had seen actual source code, and I probably spent more time trying to understand it than playing the game. I taught myself QBasic by modifying the game physics and graphics. As computer game technology advanced, I kept learning how computers worked to get games running on older hardware. I probably spent more time troubleshooting IRQs and RAM disks to run Doom II, Duke Nukem 3D, and Star Wars: Dark Forces than actually playing them.

Screenshot of the opening screen from QBasic Gorillas (gorillas.bas). — Ready to use physics and throw some bananas. Opening screen from QBasic Gorillas (gorillas.bas).

This all led me to pursue a Computer Science degree. While the curriculum didn’t include many games, the problem-solving, logic, and math involved in programming and algorithms were rewarding. I kept at it and eventually earned a master’s degree in Computer Science.

What Is This Website?

This website focuses on programming and technology as tools to solve problems and get things done. I don’t favor any particular platform or language, so you’ll find posts covering a wide range of tools and technologies, using whichever is best (or available) for a given problem.

If I couldn’t find a solution to a problem, I figured someone else might be searching for the same answer. I share my solutions to help others avoid many hours of stumbling, but the website also serves as a personal reference for when I forget how I solved something. It’s a small addition to the wealth of knowledge shared by others that has saved me countless hours over the years.

This is a personal website, so the posts reflect my personal opinion. While I’ve tested and used the code posted here, I can’t guarantee that it will work in every possible scenario or configuration. All content is provided as-is and should be used at your own risk, with no warranties implied or expressed.

Contact

If you have questions, feedback, or just want to send a friendly note, you can reach me through the contact form. Since this website is a hobby project, I can’t promise a reply or that I’ll see your message right away. Still, your words are always appreciated (grievances slightly less so) and might even inspire me to fix or improve something later.

Screenshot from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Pay no attention to the average middle-aged man standing by this sign.