I remember the day I heard about it from a letter I got while I was in the Army, I had some sort of feeling about it that I knew when I got home I would be all over it, and all over it I was.
The WebMaster E "Erik"
Quick Accolades
After contemplating for months on a name I simply came up with something straightforward. It me (E) and I'm a webmaster. Nothing fancy, nothing in Latin that means all knowing, no smoke and mirrors but something that is what you see is what you get (WYSIWYG).
Quick Accolades
Dual Major in Marketing and Management From Kutztown University, Collegiate NCAA Division I-II Wrestler, Collegiate Division I-A USA Rugby MARFU candidate, Honorable Discharge - ARMY Automated Logistics Specialist and Motor Pool Mechanic, Division I-II Empire RFU Mens Club Rugby Member, NASCAR Division II Dirt Modified Sportsman Racer, NYC Based Global Communications Executive, Website Designer, Graphic Artist, Videographer, Photographer, and Entrepreneur.
After contemplating for months on a name I simply came up with something straightforward. It me (E) and I'm a webmaster. Nothing fancy, nothing in Latin that means all knowing, no smoke and mirrors but something that is what you see is what you get (WYSIWYG).
And so here is what you get.
The first computer I ever had was the Adam Computer, 
a step up from a standard word processor in 1983. I started on a program called Smart Logo (A demo Video of Smart Logo From Youtube), taking this turtle on the screen and making it move around the screen to create images and motion graphics.
In school, we had the commodore 64 and ran commands in basic such as line 10 go to 20, run, and watch the screen scroll endlessly in a loop, till stopped.
a step up from a standard word processor in 1983. I started on a program called Smart Logo (A demo Video of Smart Logo From Youtube), taking this turtle on the screen and making it move around the screen to create images and motion graphics.
In school, we had the commodore 64 and ran commands in basic such as line 10 go to 20, run, and watch the screen scroll endlessly in a loop, till stopped.
At the same time, the Apple Macintosh was out and only available in art class, and only one person could have access at a time. I remember signing up for special events just so I could get into the art room to use it.
From there I know there was daily use of the Adam Computer that shared time with the ColecoVision and the Atari 2600. I can spare the evolution of video gaming for a separate post that like minds can geek out to.
Fast forward to my first real PC, the Gateway 2000, I had it out of the box for about 30 minutes and I was already on the phone with tech support as I had screwed something up trying to get the machine to play a game.
Back in that day, you had to tweak a number of settings to get specific games to play properly. I recall having to send it back at some point, I was excited to get it back with a clean operating system and apply what I had learned. Looking back reinstalling the operating system was probably the fix.
I had always enjoyed gaming on PCs even when Sega Genesis and Nintendo Entertainment System came out, I still had my share of PC games. I had always been a bit behind on the console games, most of the time I played them at my friend's house.
I remember sleepovers as a kid when everyone would be sleeping I would still be up playing Ghosts and Goblins or Mike Tysons Punch Out. If you're liking any of this, this is the part where I recommend that best book for memory lane, Ready Player One, or a glimpse into this world.
I remember sleepovers as a kid when everyone would be sleeping I would still be up playing Ghosts and Goblins or Mike Tysons Punch Out. If you're liking any of this, this is the part where I recommend that best book for memory lane, Ready Player One, or a glimpse into this world.
Let's start to get after it.
When the first signs of the Internet started to show up with an online service called Prodigy.
I remember the day I heard about it from a letter I got while I was in the Army, I had some sort of feeling about it that I knew when I got home I would be all over it, and all over it I was.Connections at 9600 modem (2400 baud) (V.32) didn't offer much but I felt connected to a world of the unknown. This all leads to double speed upgrades at 14.4k then onto the upgrade to 56k, and on and on.
Fast forward a bit to MIRC Chat and AOL, MIRC chat was the first "chat" type service I ever used, I remember downloading 24 files that took 6 hours to get for one song.
Fast forward a bit to MIRC Chat and AOL, MIRC chat was the first "chat" type service I ever used, I remember downloading 24 files that took 6 hours to get for one song.
AOL came in the mail or pretty much anywhere in the form of "free trial" disks. I can still hear the sign on and from here on in I was pretty much an internet junkie.
Enter Netscape Navigator.
Enter Netscape Navigator.
Netscape Navigator was the first real browser that I could use the term "browser" with.
Its where I first learned HTML code by simply looking at the source code. Website design in this day was made easy by programs such as Front Page and Dreamweaver (I knew as Macrmedia) the first of the WYSIWYG editors. I still use Dreamweaver today pretty much as a CSS editor and throughout time Dreamweaver has progressed my programming of PHP, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
During the same period, I became interested in other Adobe Products such as Flash, Photoshop, and Illustrator. I can remember back to Photoshop Version 3.0, most of this time period was in college at Kutztown University where I needed to enlist in the Army to afford to attend (GI Bill) and entered into the Army after one semester of college. I was only part-time after basic training and was able to attend college and have some of it paid for by the Army while I worked one weekend a month for them and two days a week at a shipping company (Pit-Ohio), working on the docks loading freight, all to pay for college.
I somehow also managed to wrestle and play rugby in college. I, at one point, would leave wrestling practice and go directly to rugby practice in the same day. In the end I would graduate with a dual major in Marketing and Management and not too far after college I would be honorably discharged from the Army as a specialist (E-4) in automated logistics, or basically the computer guy, in the rear with the gear.
Enter corporate America. I had been applying all over the place for finance jobs in Philadelphia, PA. I had one lined up but the commute was going to be about 2 hours per day and didn't end up working out. I remember my last interview before I had enough of it. I interviewed at an insurance company and about 75% of the interview was how comfortable I was selling to friends an family, I almost took the job but right before I accepted I said, nope I can not do this.
I said enough is enough and I opened a newspaper went to the job page and looked for computer jobs, and found one for tech support. I applied at NuNet in Bethlehem, PA and got a quick interview. To my surprise, I learned in the interview they were looking for another sales guy and they said: "you have a college degree, you mine as well use it". Finding out how much more it paid, I said yes.
(work in progress check back soon for rest of about section)
Other Interests
Rugby Player
Father of Two
Race Car Driver
Influences
Rugby Player
Father of Two
Race Car DriverInfluences
Website Design Structure for SEO
