sdoconnell

I'm a technology nerd who started using computers as a hobbyist in 1979, when I wrote my first program in BASIC on an Apple II. Some years later I unexpectedly found myself in the IT industry, and I've been making a living shuffling around 0s and 1s for over two decades now.

I've been involved with Linux and FOSS for over 25 years. I enjoy working on interesting problems and developing creative solutions with Free Software and open source technologies. I am also passionate about designing and building self-hosted and self-owned network services, and about breaking dependence on centralized application platforms such as Google and Facebook.

My other interests include travel, music, movies, sport shooting, and writing. I'm a licensed ham radio operator (W4SDO), and I have enjoyed a lifelong interest in pen-and-paper role-playing games and tabletop wargaming.

In 2017, my wife and I set off on an 18-month adventure traveling around the central and western United States. We lived and worked on the road in a large Class A motorhome, visiting new places and meeting interesting people along the way. We then settled down for a while in Las Vegas but continued to enjoy touring in our much smaller and more nimble travel van.

Like a lot of Americans, 2020 was a year of big changes and challenges for my wife and I. We now find ourselves adjusting to life in small-town northern Arkansas, having relocated 1500 miles across the country to care for an older family member with health concerns.

Professionally, I'm the principal consultant at POD7, LLC. I also periodically take interesting contract work for development, security, and systems engineering roles.