|
|
|
|
My longest running hobby interest and lifelong occupation has been in the field of Electronics. Starting at a very young age, I have accumulated over 30 years of experience working on a wide variety of electronic products. I was, and still am, a curious person and would take apart anything I could get my hands on in order to discover how it worked. In my younger years, this talent was not always well received. In later years, this "reverse engineering" skill would prove to be very valuable. My interest in electronics eventually resulted in the acquisition of a Short Wave radio receiver. I spent many hours searching for and listening to a variety of distant radio stations. This activity is known as the hobby of "Short Wave Listening" and led to my next major hobby of Amateur Radio. I received my callsign, VE6ARJ, in February, 1972. In 1975 my interests turned to fast cars and hot rods. I spent two years planning and building a 1968 Dodge Coronet 500 into a machine that could complete a quarter mile run in just over 11 seconds. Not bad for a 4,000 pound car! At one point this car placed fourth in the NHRA Street Finals at Edmonton International Speedway in Edmonton, Alberta. Four years later, in 1979, I decided to start my own business with an electronics repair shop called Marlin Electronics. The business developed quickly and employed several technicians until the economic downturn in 1982 made life difficult for me. I decided to downsize but remained self-employed for another 13 years. About 1982 is when my interest in Computers finally took hold. I acquired a Texas Instruments TI-99/4A and immediately started to learn to write programs in the BASIC language. I also learned all about the hardware and added computers to the list of products that I can service. Although not officially A+ certified, I have spent time as a Computer Technician with an emphasis on hardware. In 1987 I acquired a DOS based genealogy program and decided to trace my family history. I made some initial progress but didn't put a lot of emphasis on it. Then, in 1999, my interest in genealogy was re-kindled. With the expansion of the Internet it has never been as easy to do the preliminary research. In 2002 I put up my own personal genealogy website which has helped me make contact with some distant relatives. I also became a member of the Cold Lake & District Genealogy Club and launched a website for the group in January, 2002. After spending over 25 years as an Electronics Technician, it seems appropriate that I was now able to give something back to the trade that has supported me all those years. On January 26, 2001 I was appointed to the Provincial Apprenticeship Committee for the Electronics Technician Trade in the Province of Alberta as an Employee representative for a term of three years. In January 2004, I was invited to serve another consecutive term ending in January 2007. |