
I have been a very technical-type computer person ever since I was 6. That's when I got my first computer, a Commodore 64. In fact, I still have one, partly because it's a good system on which to experiment with hardware and software (it's very easy, for instance, to play around with ports, graphics, etc. at a low level), and partly because there is still some interesting software.
In any case, learning to read, I started in a typical way, reading Dr. Seuss. But what was my third book? I made quite a leap to Kids and the Commodore 64. I don't know just how I did it, but I did because I wanted so much to learn how to use the computer. Obviously, that is what turned me into the geek I am today.
There wasn't really much for me to do on the computer until about 1990, when I found an ad in RUN magazine (for Commodore 64/128 computers; it has long since disappeared) about a device called a modem, and about the world online, so I ordered it. After a little while, I found a system called a BBS, which is a system that one can dial up with a modem, and do things such as talk to others in message forums, send and receive e-mail, play games, and of course, look up other BBSs. Of course, they use simple text-based interfaces. (I used to have a page about BBSs, but took it down when I hadn't used one for a long time. More recently, I've used them on occasion—these days, most of them run over telnet.)
More recently, I got an Amiga 1000, which I used for a while. Then last year (1998), I got a much more up-to-date system, as was necessitated by my enrollment in the local community college.
Whereas computers are my first love, music is a close second. My all-time favorite composer is J. S. Bach. I love most Baroque music in general, but his is my favorite. I play organ, and used to play viola in the Spokane Youth Symphony, and for the last few years, I have been a church organist.

For the sake of comparison, you can see here my old photo, which I took way back in mid-2000 on an El Cheapo™ webcam (with composite video output) and used here until January 2, 2008. What a difference 7½ years makes!
Beginning Fall 2002, I have been a student at Eastern Washington University, majoring in (what else?) computer science!
Here is a short recording of my voice.
I am now a Wikipedian. I have made small but significant contributions to a couple of articles on the English Wikipedia, as well as copyediting a small but growing number of them.
Here is my new (as of May 2008) GnuPG public key (compatible with PGP; includes photo ID), which you can copy-and-paste from here. You can also find this key 0xD572B791F7B4422A (and its predecessor which expires in July 2008) on many PGP keyservers, such as subkeys.pgp.net.
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Last updated: Wed May 07, 2008
E-mail (anti-spam mangled): ddawson at icehouse dot net