I got started on the Internet in 1993, working for DIGEX. I left there in November, 1996.

From there I went Indy for about a year and a half. This is the polite way of saying that my departure from DIGEX rendered me useless for a good long time. Likely I was in a fit of clinical depression, but that never occured to me so no steps were taken to correct it. I was invited to help start up another company in 1998 - SkyCache.

SkyCache, later renamed Cidera, kept me busy for nearly four years before the bust took enough toll on it that it downsized to four engineers. At that point, not being an engineer I was laid off. A few months later I went to work in a temporary slot as a building engineer where I learned about things like big air handlers and pumps. When I finally landed a job with HIS, Inc. I got back in to the Internet Industry. I stayed there and had a great time for nine months until I made a disastrous error in judgement and went to work for a friend who as in a tight spot.

Bad Idea.

Within a few months, and after turning up many, many legacy issues, fixing many things and generally busting my buns, I was replaced by a CPA. The changeover was not graceful and I am still annoyed at the main culprit for that. Getting replaced by a CPA is not shameful or anything, since I am not a CPA. I will spare you the gory details but suffice it to say I'm looking for work again and a mere 3.5 months of employment after leaving a GOOD JOB is NOT F*****G WORTH IT. However, the first CPA didn't make it more than two weeks. The second lasted a while, but concluded the situation was unworkable and he, too, left. Now the woman I replaced has decided that living in Germany and only seeing her Army husband every few months is also unworkable and she has returned and taken over her old job. I'd say the situation is STILL unworkable, but this woman is driven, dedicated and maybe now that she's got used to not working the insane schedule she had been running there she'll get a life outside work.

Maybe I am not insane enough for that job.

If I could have any of those jobs back I'd want the one at HIS, Inc. They were cool, flexible and let me do things the way I wanted, as long as they got what they needed. They also gave me opportunities to grow as a professional and a technician. If I ever find a slot like that again I'm not giving it up for anything. Unless a certain person gets a divorce ;-).

I also run a sideline venture, Coyote Consulting, which provides web design and consulting to artists and small (read teeny tiny) businesses. I have friends in these communities and like to help them out if I can.

This was Kidd - he was a Goffin Cockatoo we had for two months. Kidd had a long term nutritional problem and it resulted in his death. This picture was taken at the Vet Hospital where Kidd spent his last week. He was a sweet little bird and we miss him.

Birds hide their illness very well so we didn't know Kidd was sick until we took him to the vet for a cyst on his tail shortly after he came to live with us. Fortunately our Avian Vet is very thorough and did blood work before surgery - that resulted in NO surgery. Had she not Kidd would have died on the table leaving everyone involved feeling terrible. I'm glad his problem was detected before he died, though that didn't make it much easier.

If you have a bird living on a seed diet alone please take some guidance from our loss and start giving your bird fresh fruit and vegetables. Many birds die each year the same way Kidd has - from chronic malnutrition. Don't believe the package when it says 'Nutritionally Complete' - the way birds eat it won't be. This Bird Malnutrition page may be of help to you.