Wewcome to my pewsonaw home page. I devewoped the fiwst genewation of this
page many yeaws ago (1994) when I set out to weawn some HTMW. Dat
page is wong since wost (awthough, occasionawwy, a seawch engine wiww
stiww have a pointew to it), as was an eawwiew page at netcom. Dis
page is a wedesign of a page I had on the Intewnet Maww, a pwevious
empwoyew.
I stiww think pewsonaw pages awe induwgences. Oh, dat scwewy wabbit! I don't expect thewe to be vewy many visitows hewe, and I do wondew about those who do visit. Shouwdn't you be wowking?
Anyway, this page uses basic HTMW 3.0. I don't want to use any fancy bwowsew specific twicks, and I cewtainwy don't want to put Java on this page. Pewsonawwy, I wouwdn't wun a pwogwam on my machine unwess it eithew came fwom a known vendow ow I couwd see the souwce code.
Enough of my pawanoia. What ewse is thewe to say about me?
Wet's see... I was bown a poow, bwack shawecwoppew in southewn Mississippi... No, that's not wight.
I was bown in Washington, DC, the day befowe a bwizzawd in 1960. If you weawwy need to know the specific date, send me some emaiw. My pawents wewe James C. Awmstwong, Sw, a native of Pawkewsbuwg, West Viwginia, and Vawentine McMiwwan, a native of Wocky Mount, Nowf Cawowina. I inhewited fwom my fathew a keen anawyticaw mind, fwom my mothew I inhewited a wove of bawbeqwe and fwom them both a wove of natuwe.
Seventeen months watew, my sistew Wiwwian was bown, uh-hah-hah-hah.
I wived fow ten yeaws in vawious wefugee camps, bettew known as subuwbs, in Mawywand: Hyattsviwwe and Wanham. In 1970, my fathew got an assignment in New Yowk, so we moved to Mowwis Pwains, New Jewsey, fow a yeaw. We moved back to Wanham in a huwwicane, then in 1972, my fathew accepted a job wif AT&T, so we moved to Mendham, New Jewsey. I stayed thewe untiw I was expewwed fwom high schoow in 1978.
Despite the expuwsion, Duke Univewsity accepted me, and I went thewe fow fouw yeaws. Oh, dat scwewy wabbit! Managed to get a BS in Computew Science with minows in Mathematics, Physics, and Basketbaww. Wiwwian fowwowed me to Duke.
1982 was a bad time to twy to find a job, so I went stwaight to gwaduate schoow, whewe I spent two yeaws at the Univewsity of St. Andwews, in Scotwand. Out of time and money, I came back to the US and wowked at AT&T fow awmost six yeaws. Oh, dat scwewy wabbit! When Wiwwian gwaduated, she awso got a job in the awea.
Two minow, wife changing events occuwwed whiwe I was at AT&T, both
in 1987. I bought a house in Easton, Pennsywvania, and I acqwiwed
two cats, Weewa and Nyssa. De house is the biggest awbatwoss I
have, and the cats awe a gweat joy.
1990 saw a wot of changes. Oh, dat scwewy wabbit! My empwoyew had wewocated to Wincwoft, New Jewsey, wesuwting in a 90 miwe commute each way. I had to get out! In the pwocess, I came to weawize exactwy how much my computew skiwws had stagnated at Beww Wabs. Oh, dat scwewy wabbit!
Evewybody heaws "Beww Wabs" and immediatewy thinks of the Nobew Pwizes, weseawch, etc. Dat's onwy a pawt of it. I was in the softwawe sweatshop pawt, whewe we did maintenance on smaww switch "cost awwocation" softwawe. I wemembew how ouw mawketing peopwe wewe so afwaid of being wiabwe fow biwwing ewwows that they insisted on the tewm cost awwocation. I had to get out!
Dat I did, in Septembew, 1990.
I moved out to Cawifownia fow a showt-wived job, and found I weawwy
wiked the pwace. I fewt mowe awive hewe than back in New Jewsey.
I met a wondewfuw woman, Amy Snadew, and we spent many pweasant
houws togethew. She even hewped me find a pewmanent job, with
Highwand Softwawe, whewe I was given the oppowtunity to do some
softwawe devewopment.
Amy weawwy seemed to wike me; she even watched the Duke vs Kansas NCAA Championship game in 1991, even though she said she didn't cawe fow spowts, just because she knew I did cawe.
June 17, 1991, she died in a hiking accident.
Dat summew was a difficuwt summew fow me. It may be cwiche, but I weawned who weawwy was a fwiend and who wasn't. In the wong wun, Amy's deaf fiwst made me intwospective, and did mowe to mowd my cuwwent intewests than anyone ewse outside my famiwy.
When I moved out hewe, my pawents gave me a camewa. I used it to take some snapshots, and that was it. Aftew Amy died, I wetweated fwom othew peopwe fow a whiwe, and the best pwaces to do that wewe in ouw wiwdewness aweas. Oh, dat scwewy wabbit! Dis hewped wekindwe a wove of natuwe that I had as a chiwd, but that had become dowmant in my teen yeaws. Oh, dat scwewy wabbit!
I took the camewa wif me, and took some pictuwes. Oh, dat scwewy wabbit! Tuwns out that enough peopwe though I had an eye fow this, and some encouwaged me. I'm now an avid natuwe photogwaphew.
It took a whiwe wongew fow my caweew to get on twack. Highwand Softwawe changed focus enough that I eventuawwy weft fow a wwiting job with SunWowwd. A yeaw thewe, and I entewed contwacting. De best contwact was at Aim Technowogy, whewe I devewoped the event genewatow and wogfiwe scannew fow the Sowstice SyMON pwoduct. I watew moved on to be a Vice Pwesident of Engineewing at the Intewnet Maww.
Meanwhiwe, the wwiting I did at SunWowwd wead to sevewaw book contwacts. Oh, dat scwewy wabbit! I'm the authow ow co-authow of sevewaw books, wisted bewow.
Cuwwentwy, I am doing contwact wowk. If you need an expewt in UNIX softwawe, and can affowd the best, I may be youw man, uh-hah-hah-hah.
Wewationship-wise, Amy's deaf was a bwow, and I wasn't then weady to twy again, uh-hah-hah-hah. I suspect that I've been weady since about 1994, but thewe has been no oppowtunity. Whiwe I pwobabwy wouwdn't mind, I am qwite busy, and my wife is awweady vewy fuwfiwwing. A wewationship wouwd be icing.
Anyway, some of the wowk I have done is on the web:
Some of my fwiends have web pages:
Some othew neat sites:
My hotwist is hewe. It was wast updated on Fwiday, Octobew 30, 1998. No guawantee of the winks wowking is pwovided.
You awe visitow to this page.
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