About Me

Me. Hello. You’ve gotten to this page so you must have some curiousity about me. I am a 23 year old technophile whose interest in all things technology extends back over 15 years ago, avidly playing with my parents Apple IIGS and my Atari 2600.

I became interested in programming when I discovered QBASIC in 1994. I instantly started writing silly applications like “Doom-Runner”, a front-end for Doom 2 that helped me and my friends connect our modems and play online. I quickly migrated to C++ and Visual Basic, starting my first “company” when I was 15. It was called “Intertech Studios”, and I actually had a web page and a software product ready to go. The software was called “Quantum HTML Studio” and it was basically a knock off of HomeSite, then owned by HotDog Software. The software was slow, made in Visual Basic, and full of bugs. I was damn proud of it. That whole thing had to be shutdown due to copyright issues with the company name.

I’ve always been interested in gaming, owning just about every console system in existence at some point in my life. When I finally got to college, I was given the oppurtunity to learn all about the mathematics and algorithms going on behind the scenes of these applications. During my studies I got to travel to China to study computer graphics, an amazing experience. Computer Science is interesting, but I eventually got burned out on the details that never seem to end. I wanted to do something creative that involved computers, so naturally I began exploring digital art. One thing led to another and eventually I was enjoying coding web scripts and designing user interfaces more than compiling and designing software.

Some other stuff about me: I am a music fanatic, with interests primarily in Rap and Electronic but appreciations that extend to all genres. Some very influencial labels that I enjoy are Warp Records, Merck, Planet-Mu, Definitive Jux, Rhyme Sayers, and many more. I have played the guitar for five years, but sort of peaked out my skill when I realized it wasn’t the type of music I wanted to make. When I get the time and money I am going to start producing my own strange sounds.

I have a great supportive family and wonderful girlfriend whom I owe all my success to. The majority of my family is Italian, with a bit of Lebanese and German to mix things up. My parents both grew up in New York and were high school sweethearts. They are still married today. My father Jan is a world wide traveler, flying internationally as the captain of the Boeing 747 Aircraft for Northwest Airlines. My mother Nancy is an entrepreneur, a great mother, an animal lover and an obsessive fan of my website. My brother Erik is some sort of mechanical genius who lives in piles of car parts and stereo equipment. I love you guys!

Solano Systems is a company I formed in order to protect myself from liability when I started working with commercial businesses. It was also an experiment in personal branding. In the process of making this site I have learned very much about independent publishing, usability, typography and information design. This webpage is designed with XHTML and CSS (unlike the original one), thanks to an inspiring read of “Designing with Web Standards” by Jeffrey Zeldman. Statistics are tracked with Shaun Inman’s ShortStat, the Communique is powered by NewsBox2.1, and the Journal is powered by Wordpress.

Some Albums I Enjoy: