Build Websites

I've been building websites pretty much as long as the Web has been around. I brought up the first website for Southern Oregon University in 1993 and was involved in one way or another with every version from then until 2009. One of the first programming languages used to build dynamic websites was Perl, a language I already knew and liked when the Web started. So I naturally gravitated to writing web application in Perl. At SOU I developed the online Class Schedule, Faculty and Staff Directory, and University Catalog, all using Perl. As the web evolved I started mixing in other technologies such as Javascript, XML, and XLST. I was using the DOM to dynamically updating websites way before it was called AJAX. Over the years Perl stating loosing favor to PHP and I started porting most of my work to PHP, not because I liked it better, but so it would be easier for others to maintain.

Drupal

I had already built some sites using Drupal when I started as a Lead Web Developer at Central Web Services, Oregon State University. Drupal now became my main focus. Anyone who is used to building things from scratch will find a Content Management System limiting at first, but I soon realized that Drupal was a great foundation for writing my own apps. The I like best about Drupal however is the great open source community. This March will be my second trip to DrupalCon and I'm really looking forward to it.

Ride Bikes

I got my first mountain bike shortly after moving to Ashland in the mid 1980's. For the first 10 years or so I never made it to far up the mountains. While I did ride to work a lot, I never really rode enough to get in shape. The shortly after turning 50 I found myself way over weight and in poor health. I knew I needed a lifestyle change and it would have be something that would make up for all the hours I spend sitting on my butt in front of a computer all day. I started riding everyday and going for longer and longer rides. Ashland has great mountain bike trails, but you have to ride at least 3 miles up the mountain to get to the trail heads. Pretty soon I was able to make it up to the trail heads and then some. I kept going and before that summer passed I was able to do the 26 mile loop road, and even made it to the top of Mt. Ashland, a grueling 5,000 foot climb from my house. Oh, and I lost 30 pounds that summer.

Getting on the Road

All the years I was mountain biking I though road riding was for old people, but by 2004 I decided I needed a road bike. My excuse that the trails we often snowed in in the Winter while the roads were dry. At first the road bike was a way of training for mountain biking but soon became a passion on its own. I really liked how much distance you could cover on a road bike and the place you could go and see. By my second year on the road bike I was doing centuries like the Chico Wildflower, the Mountain Lakes Challenge, and the Siskiyou Century. I was really hooked on long rides. When winter came I still got on the mountain bike, and soon got in to night riding. With the help of some really bright lights, my buddies and I would go up once or twice a week after work and ride the trails. Great fun.

Bike Touring

In the summer of 2005 a bunch of us went on a week long self-supported tour through Northern Idaho. For this trip we had a van, so we didn't have to carry our gear, but this experience started me yearning to see the country from the seat of my bicycle. Then in 2009 we did a fully loaded mountain bike Northwest Passage tour from Ashland, Oregon to Missoula Montana. Bike touring remains a passion and I'm looking forward to my next trip.

Play Music

I started playing guitar and singing in my early 20's. At some stages it defined me more than anything. I learned a bunch of Bob Dylan and Neil Young songs and would play them for whoever was willing to listen.

Grow Gardens

I planted my first vegetable garden in 1969.