Hiking, web development, best practices, and general awesomeness
Running has never been a strong skill of mine. That didn't stop me from trying, though. A combination of lukewarm interest and parental pressure kept me in sports all through middle and high school, which included many years of track & field. I typically competed in the 400 and 100 meter,…
Looking back at my previous jobs it's interesting to look at both what skills I gained while working there and how they shaped the direction of my career. At Michigan Technological University I learned about databases and priority management. SparkNET taught my about object-orientated programming,…
Moving to Wisconsin from the wilds of the Upper Peninsula was a difficult move. Living in a small duplex on Wheatfield over the last two years with few friends nearby didn't help the transition. It was a nice place for Katie and I to start in but we were anxious to have a more solid footing. We…
I was soaked. It was mid-morning, and I was following Bluff Creek downstream trying to find Rock Bluff Falls. The rain had finally stopped a few hours ago, but the twelve hours before that had been a steady downpour. Now the sun was slowly heating the woods into a steaming sauna. Everything around…
Snap. Where did 2011 go?
Yup, last year was a bit busy. I've barely mentioned this on here, but I now work at DealerFire in Oshkosh. We mostly create custom websites for automotive dealerships, but there's a good mix of digital marketing, social media, and app development mixed up in there too. I'm…
Katie and I met over five years ago at Houghton. We working together for one of Michigan Tech's summer youth programs. After a few months of spending 18+ hours a day with each other we fell in love and started dating in early August (or late July, the dates/definitions were a bit fuzzy back then).…
It's that time of year again... When people realize that they've eaten too much food, spent too much money, or just haven't been overly productive over the holidays and decided to make firm New Year's Resolutions. I'm no exception to this annual tradition and have made a few commitments of my own…
Katie and I lived with her parents from the summer of 2009. After I lost my job at Michigan Tech they graciously opened up their doors for us until I could get a solid income again. What we hoped would be a several-month period grew to 18 months, since my SparkNET job wasn't enough to afford moving…
A few weeks ago, on an early morning hike in the Upper Peninsula, I met a bear cub and his mother. I've seen a lot of wildlife while wandering through the woods up there, including wolves, porcupines, and more grouse than I care to count, but this was the first bear I've seen outside of the car or…
When I first decided to create an online blog I wanted to avoid a common pitfall of many other blogs: lack updates. While there were a few empty months in 2009, it feels like a did a good job with regular posts every week or so... Until the New Year rolled around. This is the first blog post in over…