Personal Information
My involvement with computers began on the job out of necessity but became a hobby and then a profession when the newspaper where I was a reporter handed me a Radio Shack Model 100 and told me to get it working so other reporters could use them. The computer had a 300 baud modem, 32,000 bytes of memory, an 8-line display and could draw a crowd anywhere. Before long, I was supporting 19 others using Model 100s and Tandy 200s who were using a program I'd written to file their stories for the paper.
The computers are shown at right; the Model 100 had an 8-line LCD display above the keyboard (maybe the best keyboard ever). The Tandy 200 had a flip up screen with a 24-line display and could be purchased with 24,000, 48,000 or 72,000 bytes of memory. I had one of the 48,000 byte computers as my only computer for several years.
I moved from newspaper work to information technology in 1998, working for a non-profit agency with more than 600 employees. I served seven years as its Director of Information Systems. It was a self-reliant IT department, building and maintaining servers, network infrastructure, web sites and other resources for a network of more than 400 computers and servers stretched across more than 25 locations in two counties.
I've also written many applications in Microsoft Access which were used to support agency operations. A staff web site I built included 20 applications used for agency operations and to keep staff informed.
I began using on-line resources in 1984 when I joined Compuserve, connecting with the 300 baud modem in the Model 100. I've done computer training for many years, including non-credit courses at a local community college and classes at a local library.
My computer work includes this web site, which has existed since 1996, making it a senior citizen in World Wide Web years. I started doing web sites before WYSIWYG systems existed, and I still hand-code. I use PHP and MySql wherever appropriate.
In addition to this site, I've built several others, including:
In 2000 the web site I had built for Habitat for Humanity of Seneca County, NY, was honored as the outstanding Habitat affiliate web site in the Northeast, a region with 207 Habitat affiliates.
I've been a member of the Kiwanis Club of Seneca Falls-Waterloo since 1982. I am a two times past president, and served six years as club secretary. I have managed the web site for the New York District of Kiwanis since 2001, and am a past lieutenant governor of the Finger Lakes Division of Kiwanis.
-- Martin Toombs