First, hello and welcome!\u00a0My name is Michael. I am 48 years old and live in the Albany, NY area. I hope that you find my writing enjoyable, insightful, uplifting and sincere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I enjoy writing quite a bit, though I haven’t had a reason or a forum in which to do it other than technical writing at work. Also, I am generally a more passive, reflecting person and sometimes can’t respond To that end, I wanted to share some background on three of the major pillars of my life that I expect to blog about the most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have a diverse computer background, in both hardware and software. My interest in computers started from a rather young age. <\/p>\n\n\n\n My first experience with a computer was the original IBM personal computer. It originally had two floppy drives, no hard drive, no sound card, and only 640KB of memory. I watched my dad upgrade it over the subsequent years with hard drives, a CD-ROM drive In 4th grade, I used the Alpha IV database program to create a library card-catalog-like inventory system for the books on my bookshelf. In high school, I used Access 97 to create a tracking database for the times and scores of the Track and Field team. Over time, I dabbled a little bit in QBasic programming and took a Basic programming class. I also made my first Web site, which I At first, I did not go to college for Computer Science. I had always considered a hobby and never thought of pursuing programming further. However, after taking the first introductory computer science courses as part of my math major, I decided that I enjoyed it enough and could be successful enough with it to make it into a career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My primary focus area within the computer industry is software and database development. I spent many years specializing in the Microsoft.Net platform and C#. It was an easy language for me to get into, coming from my roots during college using C++ and Java. With the growth of interactive web front-ends, I have started building my expertise in Angular and ReactJS, as well as doing more Java programming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I currently work as a lead software engineer for a financial planning company. I have worked at the company for 25 years. I consider myself very blessed to have a good job in a stable company and very privileged to be working with the talented and energetic team of people that I do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have also assisted several clients I have enjoyed singing and music since I was a child. I sang in the elementary school chorus in 4th and 5th grade. I first started since with the music ministry at my church in 10th grade, and then joined my high school choir during my senior year. I continued to sing in the music ministry and choir while attending St. Bonaventure University<\/a>. Since then, I have continued to sing in church music ministries and would love to eventually find another choir to sing in, as my time allows. I have also started contributing online to various virtual choir and collaboration projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In regards to instruments, I took lessons to play the organ between 4th and 7th grade. At that point, the material was becoming more classical, and I really didn’t have an interest in that style. However, I continued to play and learn church music. Over time, I taught myself to play the piano with a heavily chord-based style so that I could continue to play that music that I enjoyed. I occasionally substitute on piano for the church music director when she is away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of my most memorable musical experiences was singing this doo-wop medley arrangement with 8 other seniors on stage at our high school graduation:<\/p>\n\n\n\nComputers and Technology<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Music and Singing<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n