Hi! My name is James. I'm not the most interesting, but since you came here I'll tell you about myself. If you're still interested.

I've used computers my entire life, starting with an old TRS-80 Color Computer 2 which, oddly enough, was not in color. The monitor I had was actually a monochrome one, so the color part didn't matter. This was before hard drives were used to store anything outside of a barebones set of instructions for the computer to run, so anything done was lost the moment the computer was turned off. Still, I taught myself a little code as a child (in the days before internet was common) how to code using that computer and FamilyPC magazines that would have the code for programs written in BASIC. I was able to write one two simple little programs, nothing fancy, of course, by figuring out what each line would do.

A simple beginning of this led me to become fascinated with technology. From learning on on computer hand-me-downs from my uncle to the surface book 2 I use now, I've learned how to diagnose, troubleshoot, and fix computers. At one point I held an A+ certification, though this has expired.

I wasn't satisifed with just learning how to fix and repair computers, though. My fascination led me down many different avenues, from programming to cyber security and finally back to programming. Through DeVry, I learned the basics of different languages, such as C# and Java, and taught myself the basics of C++ with google and YouTube tutorial videos when the college through me into an advanced course for the language without a basic course that was required (long story). Through this, though tough, I learned that I can pick up the basics of a language with relative ease. Mastering one, of course, is a completely different beast. I'm not certain that anyone can honestly state they have mastered a programming language. Acheived a high level of competence, memorized a great deal of it, but it's hard to master something that is constantly changing and evolving. Like technology itself, programming languages are constantly changing, updating, shifting, and sometimes replaced completely (anyone still using BASIC or BASICA? Anyone?)

After floundering awhile, unsure of what to do with my bachelors degree, I've finally decided that I am taking the direction of being a full-stack web developer and a mobile apps programmer. On the web dev side, I'm currently working on learning the front-end. I've gotten HTML and CSS down for the most part, with my current focus being on javascript and jQuery. For the backend, I'll be focusing on Node.js and Rails, as I have found that they seemed to be the most talked about. I've already got a handle on MySQL, which I will be able to put to good use on the websites I'll be creating.

On the android programming side, I've got the basics down using xml and Java, but I've let this take a back-burner while I focus on learning more about web development.

Of course, life would be pretty boring if I only had one hobby. Another passion for me is music. Sometimes, the best way to de-stress after a long night of working is just to grab a guitar and start playing. Sometimes playing a favorite song, other times just picking random notes and stringing them together. Music has always been known to speak directly to soul. It can induce emotional responses from people in many ways, from calming to enraging, invoke sadness or happiness, and everything in between. Being able to play tunes on an instrument oneself can allow for the changing of moods with ease at times. The guitar held my hand through many periods of my life, and will always be there through the years to come.

One of the struggles I've always faced is a fear of failing. It's a fear that manifests itself in a great number of people, and takes a variety of forms. For me, it stopped me from playing and singing in front of people for years, but now I love to sing karaoke, and if you follow the link at the top of the page you'll find my YouTube page with various cover songs I've done. The covers range from cringe-worthy to decent, and though I haven't uploaded in some time, I will eventually be adding more.

When talking about such things as emotions and stress relief, it is a great segway into where I am currently and to mention my better half. While I am originally an Alabamian, after living there for thirty-one years, I moved into the norther part of the United States, and after living in Pennsylvania for a few years, I moved to Michigan after meeting my girlfriend. She's an amazing woman, and provides constant reassurance and keeps me going when I feel like giving up. I'm not sure where I would without her around, but I certainly have no intentions of finding out.