I have been glued to computer screens since I was five years old; when my father brought home an IBM 8086. He taught me everything about the disc operating system (DOS): device drivers, batch files, and all the good stuff involved in having two 5.25" floppy drives with no harddrive. A few years later, Windows 3.0 was introducted; and we resisted it for another few years. I have watched technology advance from this point.
I joined the Marine Corps as a CH-46E Helicopter mechanic in 1997. I loved the work, and I loved the guys in my shop. However, after my 12+ hour shift each day, my roommate and I would stop by the seven-day store, grab a twelve-pack, and head back to our barracks room. Most Marines spent field day (cleaning day) arranging their closets, cleaning the bathroom, etc. My roommate and I spend this time arranging all the computers neatly to pass inspection. Our barracks room quickly turned into a computer shop.
He and I were both gamers, and others in our squadron wanted in on the action. We began building new computers and upgrading old computers for guys in the barracks. We even secretly ran CAT-5 cable between many of the rooms for LAN parties.
The network admin for the squadron was also one of our pilots; AND the intelligence officer. I began handling all the computer issues throughout the squadron because he was always out flying or hosting intelligence meetings. When he realized that all his trouble requests were being handled, he inquired as to who was doing it. People pointed the finger so he asked how I knew the domain admin password. I told him I hacked it, and a week later I was the squadron's new network admin.
Since the finish of my five years in the Marine Corps, I have been working as a technician for Honda. History repeated itself. The outsourced IT company was hard to get ahold of, and problems took forever to resolve. I once again cracked the domain admin password to handle all the issues internally. That IT company no longer handles our network.
My experience ranges from web development, graphics editing, Windows OS's, Windows 2000 Advanced Server, Server 2003 SBS and Enterprise, and a little bit of everything in between. I wouldn't say I really specialize in one thing; I more or less know a little about everything. If I don't know the solution to a problem, I quickly find out. This is what brings me to Experts-Exchange. I hope my 25+ years of computer tinkering can be of assistance to you.
