Computers: Are they a Hobby or an Obsession?
When I asked my wife this question about me, she just said, "Yes."
Have you ever tried to get an idea? For days on end your mind is blank. Then one day in the shower you are trying to go as fast as possible or be late for work. Then BAM the idea is there. Well that is the case for this site.
I would like to thank my friend George for starting this. He is the one that introduced be to working on computers. Not just using them but building them and keeping them up to date. This was many years ago. Even before I met my wife. But not much before.
But please read on there may be some Geek Speak for that I can't help myself. OK so I can but I won't. But the stories are true only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.
I provided all images on this page.
History of this Geek part one.
The early years.
I was at a two year college when my roommate introduced me to this guy. Didn't make a whole lot of sense just an intro. Turns out he was a geek. And the one that started me down the path of geekdom. But more of this as it happened.
One of my first paying jobs was at the local Radio Shack during the Christmas holiday. It was from here that my first computer also came from. A Tandy 1000 EX with built in 5 ¼ floppy drive. This was good because at that time there was no such thing as a hard drive for this system. Later on I added an external 3 1/2 disk drive and more memory. Total cost today I could get a laptop with lots of bells and whistles. The operating system was an early form of DOS. There was a program that worked like windows 3.1 but you had to keep swapping the floppies to get it to run. And yes world I still own this computer and am not ashamed to admit it. Of course it is at the parents house and they may be using it as a boat anchor by now.
Moving on we come back to my friend George. He had a lot of free ware that he copied onto floppies for me. Oh no the geek in me is starting to come out. How do I know. Well my room at home was in the basement and when I was home from school I tended to play on the computer and ignore the world around me. Dad once came down and pulled the plug and said its dinner time.
Well back to college this time it was a 4 year school and I was a business major. So where did I spend most of my time. You guessed it in the computer lab. I tended to do my non-computer class homework there. Even though the library was just upstairs from the computer room. Because of this I started to volunteer in the lab. This paid off later when I took a programing class. Because I was a volunteer I could stay as long as I wanted to and work on the programing labs. This was also appreciated by a couple of my friends who needed the extra time to get their programs to function. It didn't help that the main office of the computer lab had a Dr. Who Tom Baker poster on the wall. Back to being a business major. Every business major had to complete one class before graduating. My partner was there on the first day of class and gone after that. One of the major parts of this class was to do a written report and an oral presentation. Turns out mine was on a computer company. The day the paper was due I had everything typed out and went over to the lab to print it out. Guess what was not on the disk... That's right the main paper. I had three hours to retype the paper and update the other attached pages. And this is when I would hunt and peck for the letters. With a great sigh of relief the paper was in on time. The next day was the oral report. Ant the teacher seamed surprised when he asked, "Where is your partner"? And the answer was, "I have no Idea as I haven't seen him since the second day of class". So I got up that morning put on the suit and presented the report. Again being a geek paid off. I was able to pull computer parts out of my pockets and hand them around to the class as part of the presentation.Volunteering paid off.
Scroll down for a little advice then start on History of this Geek part two...
Defrag your computer on a regular basis.
Its like your files are scattered all over the country. Part in NY and part in CA and some hiding in Alaska.
This process will bring every thing back together in one location. Thus helping your system to function more efficiently.
In better news it will also give you more free space on your system.
History of this Geek Part two.
The later years
When I first started working at my current employer I was doing sales. After three mounts it was proven that I don't do sales and let go. With in 20 days I was back. This time for a position doing data entry and running the reports and system back ups. In fact during the interview they asked me "What is your favorite DOS command"? My answer was Format C: /s /u. This got several laughs and me the job over several other people. Side note for those too young to remember DOS format = wiping the drive. With the data entry there were five of us and only one machine did not have a mouse. I think I annoyed the others because I was doing my job faster without the mouse then they were. At the time we only had one person in the IT department and he was losing his hair. At night when running the reports I had some extra time. So one day were talking and a third party suggested that I help him a little bit here and there. We both had the duh look because we had both been thinking about it but never brought it up. Thus my life in the IT department was born. I was then moved into the department. And helped open up two other locations where I was the on site IT director for one site.
As you know from reading my other site From Seizures to Brain Surgery and Beyond... there was a time I was unable to work. But the geek didn't die. Slowed down a bit maybe. Bunt not dead. I would still work on computers for people and help out were I could including at my local church.
When going back to work about six years later I was back answering computer questions. And this time I incorporated the MAC support. I was not part of the IT team but all the work I had done with the company was not forgotten. Nor was I. In fact It was amazing how many people still remembered me especially those I had worked with in the IT department. They are the ones that said how much I had changed and for the better.
Today I am still doing tech support over the phones and helping out were I can. The hardest part is trying to get off the computer to go to work. But when I am there people will ask me questions and 9 time out of 10 I have answers. And if I don't I know where to look to find it.
Most of my non-work related computer time is for fun or volunteering so I see it now a days as a hobby. But as you can tell from the wife's statement it is still an obsession. You be the judge.
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10 ways to know you are a Computer Geek..
- You wake up and turn on the computer. Go to work and are on the computer all day. Come home and are on your computer again.
- People call you 24/7 with computer question.
- Most if not all the books you read are computer manuals.
- The spouse asks on a regular basis, "Why is our home taken over by all your computer stuff?"
- The people in the IT department where you work ask you computer questions.
- Sorry I can't complete this list. I have another computer that needs working on.
Who will fix your computer?
If your computer malfunctions, what path wold you take?
They may not be computers - But they are still computer related.
Another useful tool for your computer.
- CCleaner
This tool is useful for getting rid of excess files that are not always needed. Its used along with the Windows Clean up utility. But it finds more for removal. Just make sure that before you use it that you know what it will do and how it works for
