Archive for the ‘Personal’ Category

Boing Boing Gadgets did a great post yesterday on 101 classic computer ads. Looking through the grainy images of futures past, I saw my own history of computing writ large.

I was really lucky as a kid to have so much technology at home. It started with our first computer, the Radio Shack TRS-80:

My dad taught me the BASICs of programming on that thing. When I ended up monopolizing the silver plastic beast, he got me a computer of my own, the Timex Sinclair. It plugged directly into a TV and had a membrane keyboard with BASIC commands printed right on them.

While my school was well-equipped with Apple ][ computers and the first Apple clone that I recall, the Franklin Ace, we ended up with a Commodore 64 at home. That opened up a lot more programming possibilities for me, and I ended up teaching myself assembly language so that I could render “hi-res” graphics. I also did my first hacking/cracking on that machine.

My school got its first Macs in 1984, which I immediately adopted for graphics and layout. I remember waiting for Aldus Pagemaker to catch up with my typing as I worked furiously on a variety of zines.

In college, I didn’t have a computer of my own, but I worked at a print shop and had access to top-of-the-line Macs. After college, when I was in Austin, my friend Dave from Team Fat was kind enough to give me his Atari ST, the first (only?) computer to have MIDI ports built right in. The machine had a modem, and I used it first to dial in to local BBS systems, and finally, the Internet… So this is the box that I used to create my first web site in 1993. Remarkably, I’ve still got it stored up in the attic– the computer, not the web site.

I eventually replaced this with my first personal Mac, a 33 MHz Performa, and discovered Adobe Photoshop. I used to start Photoshop rendering an effect, go to dinner, and come back to see how much progress it made. Amazing that my bloody phone has more processing power than that thing did.

Once my career got going, I treated myself to higher-end machines, but always sticking with Macs. Now, of course, our house has three times more computers than people, and that’s only counting the ones that we actually use.

Maybe when I retire I’ll open a museum or something, since I can’t bring myself to actually get rid of old tech.

Last week I responded to a general media posted online request looking for people who “made it” via self study:

I am looking for professionals who developed their particular expertise by intense focus, discipline and self study. You didn’t necessarily learn what you know and what you’ve become good at (and known for) at college (although you could have learned the basics there.) You may not even have a degree.  Whatever it is you’ve accomplished, you did it “your way”–and it has worked. If this fits you or someone you know, please send me a BRIEF description of:

• what you do
• how and why you fit my description here–please be specific
• your name, city, company and if I can use your full name, city & company

I’ll follow up with questions via e-mail later today.

I promptly wrote up a bio and sent it off:

I think that I’m a great fit for your column regarding professionals who developed their expertise by self-study as opposed to traditional learning. Here’s a brief summary of my story so far.

I was a brilliant student through high school, graduating third in my class (with only a .5 point spread between the top three graduates). I attempted college but fell short in terms of finances and maturity– I was 17 and really not emotionally ready. I ended up dropping out and pursuing my technology interests on my own time. 

I had been programming computers since I was 7 years old, and continued working on technology projects that interested me into the early 90s. I got online in 1993 and immediately found the ideal new venue for my efforts. I built my first web site shortly thereafter, and by the time the rest of the world discovered the Internet– and particularly the web– I had quite a head start. 

I did freelancing for a while before taking my first corporate job working in web development in 1995. Over the next 13 years I worked directly for companies like National Instruments, Houghton Mifflin, and Leo Burnett, while always keeping my skills honed by exploring new technologies and pursuing side projects. In my career I’ve had the chance to work with clients and partners like JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratories), NASA, Starbucks, Wieden+Kennedy, Morgan Stanley, Apple, Adobe, Thomson Learning, and the US Army.

Although I’ve had trouble getting past HR screenings with a lack of a degree, once I am in place in a company I’ve always excelled– rapidly rising to positions of management and leadership, from director-level to C-level executive.

In December of last year I struck out on my own again and co-founded a web development business called Hapax Labs, and we’re now in the process of being acquired by Mir Internet Marketing. I’ll be joining the Mir team as a part-owner and Chief Solutions Architect.

I like to think that I’m following in the footsteps of other passionate technologists who made their name without a degree hanging on their wall– Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Bill Gates, just to name a few.

You can find details of my career on my resume at http://www.idolhands.com/resume, or by checking out my LinkedIn profile at http://www.linkedin.com/in/coreyehmke

Although I never heard back from the journalist, my story must have been what she was looking for. Look what turned up yesterday in the Clarion Ledger: While degree still preferred, it’s certainly no requirement

Update: the article has moved, so here is the updated URL: Changing Careers: No degree or “wrong” education?

I’m in the second paragraph under “Seizing Your Opportunity”. (I’m pretty sure that my comments about Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were helpful in writing her article, as well.)

It’s taken almost a year of on-again, off-again effort, but my book is finally ready for the world! For those of you who do not know, last year I took my grandmother to Poland to visit her childhood home. She had not been back since World War II. I kept a journal and took nearly 600 pictures during our emotional, 10-day trip. This afternoon I finally completed turning them into a book. It’s called Kehr Wieder, which is German for “return”.

From the introduction:

When I was growing up, I spent hours listening to stories that my grandmother told about her childhood in Danzig, Poland. Her early years were idyllic and full of adventure, a stark contrast to the horror that World War II would bring to her corner of the world.

Like so many others in Europe, the war changed everything for her family. Almost overnight, their hardworking but happy lifestyle changed into a daily struggle for survival as the nations of the world fought at their very doorstep.

By the time the war was over, her remaining family had been scattered across the continent and had lost practically everything. Ever the fighter, my grandmother pulled herself out of the ruins of her stolen childhood and started a new life and a new family in America.

But although she made a good life for herself here, she has always been haunted by the memories of her home.

In celebration of her 85th birthday, and in thanks for everything that she has done for me, I took my grandmother back to Germany and Poland in 2007 to see the place that she came from one more time.

This is the story of our journey home.

You can preview the book online and even buy a copy if you’re so inclined. Thanks to Blurb.com for their free bookmaking software, bookstore, and on-demand press.

If you know me in the nondigital world, you also know that my family homeschools my daughter. I didn’t know much about homeschooling or the homeschooling community before we started this adventure a few years ago; my exposure had been limited to one cool-but-eccentric family where I grew up and an uber-religious boss in the 90’s. Homeschooling has been great for us, however, and my 11-year-old daughter is learning more history, geography, literature, and Latin than I ever did, even in high school.

One of the great things about my working from home (since leaving my corporate job back in December) is that not only do I get to spend more time with my family in general, but I’m also able to take on some responsibility for Lydia’s science education. For a few months now we’ve been learning the basics of electronics. Over at our homeschooling blog, www.WhatAboutSocialization.com, you can find the first of our video podcasts, entitled “Warning: Science in Progress!”

The first episode shows our first Arduino project. I’m working on the second and third installments now.

I’ve got Tip of the Day enabled in TextMate. Check out this gem from today…

-25 points if you don’t get the reference.