It seems as if I have spent a great deal of my life behind a computer in one shape or another. It started back when I was a kid. My Mom had a boyfriend that worked with computers, I would spend countless hours on a 300 baud modem playing Star Trek on an unknown mainframe.
Since then I have been a cook, a bouncer, a taxi driver, an auto body painter, a truck driver, a kitchen equipment repairman, a sound engineer, and an air conditioning and refrigeration tecnician. I found out over the years that my one true gift is that I instinctively know how things work, especially control systems.
It was during my time as an air conditioning and refrigeration tech that I ran across my first energy management computer. That was 1983, the Enercon Data Systems computer was not much more than a glorified time clock. The programming was all done with a 10 digit keypad and an enter key. I spent countless hours figuring out how this machine worked sitting on a stool in a cold basement in front of that kepad. It was frustrating but I was hooked. Realizing that controls was going to be my forte, I formed my first control company the same year specializing in pneumatic controls and energy management systems.
In 1985 I signed on with Control Pak corp to install their equipment. Control Pak was the manufacturer of the Barber Coleman Network Supervisor and developed their own brand after parting ways with Barber Coleman. I quickly realized the limitations of this equipment, and signed up with Teletrol Systems towards the end of 1985. Teletrol Systems had a great idea, make the system open to other communications protocols, and use stadard computer components to manufacture the equipment. Suprisingly this was also their downfall. Their goal was to let the computer industry pull them along instead of producing proprietary components. This worked until Microsoft Windows came along. They struggled with a Windows graphical solution for years. They ultimately fell behind as most couldn't wait for them to figure it out.
Enter Tridium in 1999. Tridium had the same idea as Teletrol - the ability to communicate openly with all devices. The diference was that they had a system that worked, a complete windows GUI, and true scalability. The rest is controls history. Tridium is now the go to system for most control companies. I have been doing Tridium since the very early years of the company.
And then 911. 911 was a wake up call for a lot of people including myself. I was sitting behind a computer for 12 to 14 hours, drinking 10 cups of coffee a day, and smoking two packs of cigarettes. I needed a change. My hobby had always been photography, bought my first camera, an Olympus OM-1 in 1979. By 1985 I had a small studio on the side, doing weddings, portraits, and boudoir photos. Although I didin't do a lot of business with the studio, it gave me the oportunity to learn a great deal about the art of photography. I ultimately closed that studio when I moved from Philadelphia to Indianapolis in 1996 to work on a large control project for Cummins Engine. So in 2001 I decided that I wanted my photography studio again, this time I was going to do it full time. Yup scrapped everything I had done up to that point and decided to jump in with both feet. I opened Studio K Photography in 2002 with little more than a couple of lights and an old RB-67 Pro camera. That same year my world changed again. The first affordable digital camera the Fuji S1 came to my attention. I knew that digital was here to stay and decided to switch to a full digital studio before many even knew digital photography was possible for professionals. Once again I was in the world of computers, sitting behind a screen for hours on end processing photos and doing retouch. But, I was loving my new world.
Over the next 11 years Studio K became one of the top studios in the country for Senior Pictures and Pageant Photgraphy. I earned a Master Of Photography Degree and a Photographic Cratsman Degree, and a Certified Professional Photographers degree from PPA. I became a Speaker and Fashion Shooter for Senior Portrait Artists, Seniors Ignite, PPA and After Dark, some of the top photographic organizations of the day. I got to photograph many of the Miss USA and Miss USA Teen title holders and contestants. I worked with models from the Ford Agency, several smaller boutique agencies, as well as a Playmate of the Year. My clients were wonderful and I am so honered to be able to have worked with each and every one of them. In 2008 the world changed again. Professional phtography took a huge hit during the 2008 recession. People just didn't have the money to spend. Over the next 4 years Digital Photography was becoming easier, cheap, and it seemed like everyone that could afford a camera was now a "professional photographer". Clients flocked to these "photographers" that were offering "professional" work at amateur prices effectively driving most professional studios out of business. In 2013 Studio K was broken into 2 different times taking everything we owned, and with the waning senior portrait business, I elected to close the business.
Today I am back to doing controls. I still do photography as a hobby. I have also taken up knife making that I hope takes me into my retirement. I guess the bottom line is that I have done a few things well in my life and I love to teach and share. So if you learn something while visiting this site, it makes me happy! Thanks for being here!
