Can’t live with it, can’t live without it.
Millennials like myself have been immersed in technological change our entire lives. We witnessed the dawn of the internet, but we still grew up with the card catalog and Dewey’s Decimals. We traded our mixtapes for burnt CDs, then for iPods, and again for streaming services. We love our LED HDR TVs, but still remember having to switch the old CRT to channel 4. Or was it 3? Trick question, it was both.
I’ve relished the chance to play with new technology all my life. Whether it be tinkering with the newest computer hardware or repairing my aging Nintendo Entertainment System, I’ve got experience across the board and throughout the timeline. The first thing I do with any new piece of gear is check out the settings menus and see what it can do. Oh, and while we’re in there, let’s disable tracking and targeted ads too. Can’t forget about that in the modern day.
Have there been bumps along the way? Of course there have! Just ask my uncle about how I bricked their family computer back in the early 2000s. Y2K was nothing compared to me that day, and they didn’t let me near their new computer for roughly a decade after. But flash forward to the present, and I’ve built PCs, maintained servers, configured remote access VPNs, digitized analog video, soldered capacitors, and more!
Having trouble with tech? The first thing I’d suggest is turning it off and on again. Did that fix it? No? Let’s talk.
Computer Maintenance
Whether it be a Mac or a PC, I can quickly diagnose issues and take steps to get things working smoothly again. Haven’t quite graduated to learning Linux, but maybe one day. Need more performance? I can figure out whether an upgrade or a replacement is the better option for you. The answer might surprise you!
Storage Servers
Back in 2015 I didn’t even know what a NAS was. Today I don’t know how I lived without one! I got my start setting up a file server for the production company I worked for…and then we needed a backup. And then an archive. And then a backup for the archive. And then I wanted one at my house! Remember, when it comes to keeping your data safe, two copies is one copy…and one is none! Back up your data, folks!
IT & Networking
I may not have any proper accreditations, but if you ask anyone at my old job who the IT guy was, they’ll refer you to me. 10GbE switches, remote VPN access, WiFi access points, server racks, cellular failover…we had a lot of cool stuff going by the end! And while I know there’s still a ton for me to learn, I’m confident in my grasp of the basics!
Electronics Repair
Eventually electronics fail, but that doesn’t mean you need to throw them out! That old Super Nintendo probably still has plenty of life in it, we just might need to swap out the capacitors or clean the pins. From soldering in new parts to safely disposing of those spicy lithium battery pillows, I’m confident I can help narrow down the issue and get you closer to a solution. And if I can’t do it, then we’ll make sure that piece of tech gets recycled properly…even if it takes a form you weren’t expecting!
Soldering
My first ever soldering experience was in the Spring 2009, sometime around 3:00 AM. I was trying to get a cardboard replica of a Nintendo controller to actually function when connected to an NES…and I failed miserably. I gave up soldering for years after that, but got back into it after college when I started getting into video game console modding and maintenance. Today I can tackle through-hole soldering with ease, and am easing my way into SMD components as well. It’s a good skill to have, just don’t breathe in those fumes!
Digitization
Remember those old home movie tapes you have laying around in the closet? Those tapes won’t last forever; eventually that magnetic data is going to degrade, and those memories will be gone! Got them digitized to a DVD back in the late 2000s? That’s a good start, but those DVD-RWs won’t last forever either. I’ve got both professional and personal experience scanning photos, digitizing videotapes, converting wonky old file types into versions your modern devices will appreciate. Lets save those memories before it’s too late!
Whole Home Audio
You’ve really scrolled this far? That means a lot to me, thank you! To reward your curiosity, I’m going to let you in on a secret: If you’re an Apple user, you can DIY your own WiFi whole-home audio by grabbing a couple of old Apple AirPort Express units and plugging them into a speaker! As long as the AirPort is A1264 or A1392, you should be good. And your speaker of choice needs to have a 3.5mm input jack. There’s tons of perfectly good speakers sitting unused on thrift store shelves just because they used old connections like that frustrating but nostalgic iPod connector. Go rescue one and put it to work! Even if you only use one speaker, being able to immediately connect to a speaker over WiFi is delightfully convenient…but trust me, there’s something utterly luxurious about walking from the living room to the kitchen and having the same music playing while perfectly synced. Want to give it a go, but need more detail! Feel free to reach out!