About Me
Professionalism
I am an engineer that has worked on designs from heavy machinery to precision, clean energy solutions. I have become an expert in designing for manufacturing with a focus on reducing complexity to improve assembly and reliability.
I have mentored and led many teams of engineers and successfully managed project timelines and resources. As my career continues, I am always looking for new ways to grow and learn.
Up For Adventure
Being outdoors both relaxes and energizes me, simultaneously. After a long hike in the mountains, a bike ride through the countless parks or trails nearby, or a day snowboarding down the slopes, I'm left ready to undertake the next project and opportunity to learn.
Hobbies
Many things in life have piqued my interest. I've found myself picking up photography and exploring light over the years. I enjoy hands-on building projects, especially when I can bring my own designs to life. The world of computers and technology seems to always catch my focus.
I discovered the Linux operating system almost two decades ago during college when my Windows installation became corrupted. With limited resources and budget as a college student, I urgently needed to make my computer operational again for the sake of completing my college work. After much perserverence, I installed Ubuntu and configured it to excel for my needs. In the years since, I've found a love for all things computer and have been tinkering with computer hardware and software.
I've now been running a home Linux server in some form for the past 15 years. The most recent few year has found myself relying on a Proxmox server, running on recycled hardware, with a Home Assistant smart home virtual machine as well as a Debian Linux VM. My Debian VM acts as a file server to store all of my family's documents and files. This VM also runs Docker and has many containers running invaluable services for me and my family.
A SyncThing container allows me to effortlessly sync files between my home server and my laptop and desktop. My RustDesk container provides server functions to allow self-hosted remote desktop connections between my multiple computers. The Frigate NVR container pulls my RTSP security cameras from around the house and uses AI to detect objects such as people and vehicles.
Home Assistant has become a necessity to have running on my server. I've integrated Frigate NVR into Home Assistant which lets me easily view my cameras and recorded footage from detection events no matter where I am in the world. Additionally, I've automated notifications to be sent to my smart phone when a detection event meets my criteria. Through a Z-wave network of light switches and breaker panel sensors that I've installed in my home, I've successfuly integrated my house's lights and power panel into Home Assistant. This has allowed me to monitor full-house power usage to help track anomalies. For convenience and fun, I've written automations that turn specific lights on and off as well as dimming others automatically to create a comfortable lighting situation throughout the house, throughout the day and night.
As a point of pride and enjoyment, I love fixing anything that breaks around the house. My 3D printer is routinely used to create parts that I've modeled to solve a specific problem in my life. The workbench I've built in my garage is frequented by me throughout the week as I build and create new things out of wood, metal, or plastic.
Keep An Active Lifestyle
Through my childhood, my life was spent exploring the neighborhood on my bicycle, wandering through the woods behind our house trying to see where I'd end up, and running around for hours playing hockey, football, and soccer out in the street. I'm lucky to have kept an able body and continue to look for ways to keep myself healthy. I enjoy pushing myself to compete in 5K, half marathon, and Ragnar running races. When I can make time, playing hockey at the local ice rinks is perhaps my favorite athletic venture.
Family First
My wife and I have known each other since childhood and have encouraged each other through our education. Over the past decade, life has steered us to many parts of the country to pursue our education and careers. I'm happy, though, that we have now settled in Colorado and have no plans on leaving. My pride in life for the past years has been raising happy, healthy children in which we enjoy an active, outdoor lifestyle together. We have been fortunate enough to travel the U.S. and internationally together and look forward to our future family travels to explore this world.