Background
I first started getting interested in computers at some point before my teen years, but I don’t recall exactly when that was. Initially, I played around with Microsoft Access, and then graduated to macros and VBA code. Later, I would switch over to Visual Basic 4, which I stayed with until senior year of college, when I got my hands on an early beta edition of Visual Studio. I had initially planned to dual major in biology and computer science, as I was very interested in biologically inspiring computing algorithms, such as genetic algorithms, neural networks, and the like, but quickly realized that the schedules of the type of people in biology classes and those of computer science meshed very poorly, with the result being that I ultimately dropped the biology major and continued forward with computing.
Current Projects
Currently, I’m self-employed, doing contract software development for a couple of clients. I also have a side business that I’m the process of building up, which has significant potential in the agricultural space (Agulus). I’m also in the early stages of working on a book for new developers to help with all the non-development stuff they need to learn to be competent and useful in the workplace (when I’m a little closer, I’ll get a link out).
Hobbies
In addition to computers, I have a number of other hobbies. I hunt and fish when I get the time (I rarely get the time these days). I also make homemade wine, mead, and hard cider. I also enjoy lifting heavy things and putting them back down again and have managed a couple of interesting feats of strength as a result of my efforts. In addition, I’ve been in one form of martial art or another since I was seven years old, have raised 23 different species of freshwater tropical fish and had a four part series about the brine shrimp in Freshwater and Marine Aquarium magazine when I was 15 years old. I also do really enjoy writing and the sound of my own voice, and spend a ridiculous amount of time reading, frequently about pre-gunpowder history, natural history, biology, and numerous other topics. I’m pretty much a cross between a giant dork and a weightlifting hillbilly.
Contact Me
Feel free to follow me on Twitter @GantSoftSys, my company on Facebook. You can also follow my blog at GantSoftwareSystems.com or catch me on LinkedIn, where you can see a picture of me fatter, with shorter hair and no beard.