I have been fortunate to have been given a lifetime accumulating and practicing the skills necessary to deliver well researched, engaging content on complex topics using clear language.
My journey began in a DC metro area hospital. I don’t remember much about that time because I was a newborn and wasn’t really paying attention, but I got better. One of my earliest memories is of watching my father in the living room connect an original Nintendo NES to the onyx colored behemoth that was the family’s JVC CRT TV. The Nintendo was my birthday gift and the process of setup and play set aflame an expansive curiosity. I needed to know: how does this doohickey work? How do all the doohickeys work?
Countless manuals and books were read. Countless appliances were taken apart. Two parents were annoyed. More manuals and books were read. Appliances were fixed. Computers were repaired and even built. Forums, clubs, and newsgroups were joined.
My first taste of rigorously explaining technical topics was in clubs and online communities. The skills of empathetic inquiry and careful attention to language that I developed there combined with constantly maturing research habits has helped me throughout my journey. Those skills aided me at Comcast when I needed to document my APIs and write user manuals as a co-op software and SIT engineer creating tools for developers and testers. Those skills aided me at UPenn when I needed to deliver communications materials such as user guides and product reviews when I provided technical support for the diverse population of grad students. Those skills aided me at Motorola when I needed to create documentation for engineers, non-technical managers, and technicians while designing, building, and testing telecommunications equipment.
So far, I’ve received a lot of joy playing in a lot of different boxes for work, solving diverse and important problems. I aim to do that outside of work as well. When I’m not writing, reading, taking things apart, or building things, I might be found playing with recipes from all over the world or on the dance floor at a swing event.