So there I was, finishing up my ASP.NET / MVC / Front Controller / Intercepting Filter / Templating framework, and I receive a seemingly innocent email from a friend, "hey Dave, what's the URL to your home page?"

Oh, My, God, I thought. He wants to see THAT? I haven't seen it myself since 2001, nor changed its layout since 1999! If you're a first time visitor here, and you think this is crap - boy, you shoulda seen it a few days or weeks ago! I'm sure my poor friend is still twitching from that horrid experience.

I've been developing software systems for 13 years, and enterprise web applications for 5. It occurred to me that the condition of my website might lead people to believe, to put it delicately, that I have absolutely no taste or skill whatsoever.

I'll be the first to tell you that my expertise is not in layout, or (graphic) design. My craft is first and foremost architecture and information systems design. I can build you an enterprise application with hundreds of web pages and server-side business components. I can build damn effective GUIs - just don't expect the next Madison Avenue inspired Flash Flex presentation (that maybe in my future, though).

So here it is - my redesign. Much less flashy, and more generic. I decided to use CSS more effectively, and to make my menu buttons look like they're pressed when you click on them. I don't spend much time on my website, so I don't have any whiz-bang automation going on. However, I am considering the possibility of applying my XML/XSLT skills to make it easier to separate "style from content", (like the good software architect I am :)

I fell in love with computers long before I earned a penny in the business. One faithful Christmas, I received a Commodore 64 computer and a cassette tape drive (so I could load programs, of course!). I was hooked from Day 2.

Why day 2? Well, I was too busy openning presents on day 1, and I got it working in the evening. Those who've owned those old computers know how daunting a blue screen with the word READY and a flashing cursor can be, especially for a kid. By the time I was in 9th grade, I'd figured out how to add my own wizard spells to the Avalon Hill game Telengard (that was a cool game).

I graduated to the Amiga 500, then 3000, which I still have to this day. Back in 1991, I saw the writing on the wall, and began learning how to build and use Wintel boxes. That's when I officially became a "computer professional". Although I'd been on the Internet for four years at that point,using Union College's VAX/VMS and Ultrix mini-computer systems and my trusty Amiga, it didn't become official to me until I got a paying job. The Amiga, by the way, is not dead. The company was bought by Gateway 2000, but is now owned by a new company called "Amiga", a new OS came out, and there are emulators out there that help keep it alive. There's even a group working on a Linux window manager that is based upon the Amiga Workbench!

Well, I still believe the Amiga is about the best-designed consumer system on the market. However, I did move on. Periodically, I get curious and check out the happennings in the Amiga community. It's still alive, and I am pleased to see emulators available for Linux. That is where I settled after I put away my Amiga 3000.

Why all this talk of Linux, you ask? Since 1991, I was stuck on Micro$oft Windows. I felt I needed to have it installed at home for several reasons. The software I wanted wasn't available on the Amiga, I had to keep my professional skills honed (configuration, installation, etc), and I didn't have time for anything else given my desire to "have a life" (my wife likes being with me once in a while *shrug*).

Back in 1998, I made some time and began playing with Slackware Linux, and I never looked back. I recently upgraded to version 10.0, and Gnome 2.8. Now, the only configuration and glitch nightmares I have are self-imposed and rare, rather than random and frequent.