There... I have finally done my introduction thread!

KGIII

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On numerous ocassions I’ve said, “I should really do an intro thread.” The reasons for that aren’t ego, it’s that I’ve got a ton of stories from a life lived on the edge. My life has been pretty great – but I admit that I’m rather biased!

If you’re not actually interested in my intro, please scroll down and read the last four paragraphs. Those paragraphs are actually a little important.

I was hatched in 1957 and poor behavior got me sent away to a ritzy private boarding/prep school. It was there that I realized that mathematics was a language and that would guide much of my life.

While I was younger, I begged my parents to let me buy a guitar. Eventually they capitulated, but the agreement was that I’d study classical guitar. This too was yet another aspect that would heavily influence my life.

In school, we actually had some really neat computers and a connection the mainframe at Dartmouth. I avoided the two of them as much as I could. We did have an observatory and I used to smoke weed and look at the stars.

Anyhow, I’d graduate and attempt to start a band. We did alright but we were young and things fell apart in a spectacular fashion rapidly. This meant I’d join the Marines and use the GI Bill to go to school.

I was first an EE major with a math minor. I liked math, so I’d go to grad school with Applied Mathematics being my goal. Between undergrad and grad I’d once again enlist as I had no way to pay for grad school and the school wasn’t all that helpful with funding.

Yes, I’m technically entitled to the honorary of Dr. KGIII.

My thesis was about modeling vehicular traffic. Simplified, it was about applying values to the metrics to make accurate outcome predictions in traffic throughput and conjestion. This was accurate enough to enable me to start my own business. There, my company would expand to modeling all sorts of types of traffic, from pedestrian to fleet vehicles and more.

During this time, I’d play in many bands ‘cause I needed the money. That tells you how poor I was, ‘cause musicians don’t make very much money. Only a very select few make serious money, the rest are lucky to average out to make minimum wage.

I’d move, open more offices, and travel a great deal. Throughout it all, music was a constant companion. Though I studied classical guitar, I played everything but. It was great and I even embodied the musician lifestyle.

That was pretty complicated to pull off, as I had two kids at home. I was a single parent for reasons too long to detail in this intro post. But, if you put it all together, you’ll see that it was a hectic life. There were not many moments where I didn’t have something to do, when I didn’t have some obligation to fulfill.

That life would continue until the year 2007. That’s when the economy went to hell in a handbasket. Our government (United States) declared they’d solve everything by stimulating the economy. Among the stimuli was billions of dollars to be spent on the highway infrastructure.

This made my company even more valuable and I was offered a sum that I simply would have had to have been stupid to refuse. At the time of the sale, I employed about 235 people. I spoke with many of them and it was generally agreed that I’d have to be an idiot to not take the money and run. So, I did.

Today I’m happily retired. I live in a very remote area of Maine. I still play guitar, sometimes even performing. The differences are now I have a giant guitar collection, don’t need the money, and can easily afford all the gear.

I also have a collection of cars that I’ve been accumulating over the intervening years. They’re assets that I appreciate and they’re assets that appreciate. So, I appreciate them. What I like about collecting cars is that there’s always so much more to learn. Even the history of automobile manufacturing is complex and interesting.

Linux… How about a little information about how I got there?

My career required heavy use of computers, sometimes doing things that were unheard of at the time. By the late 90s, we were working with data sets that were a full terabyte in size. This required giant disk arrays and racks upon racks of clustered servers. On the desktop, and in an business admin role, I used Windows. However, my previous experience was with Unix.

When I retired, I was no longer beholden to others. I didn’t need interoperability. I was able to decide which OS I preferred and that OS was various Linux distros. Once I was able to, I switched exclusively to Linux and haven’t really looked back. I did spend far too long learning to use distros and not learning to use Linux. If I could go back and change that, I would. I’d have spent more time understanding what was going on under the hood rather than learning to use all the bits and bobs added onto the system by the distro devs.

Finally, and the final action that motivated me to write this introduction is that I’ve been offered, and have accepted, a volunteer position here on the site as a moderator. I wanted to touch on that and explain how I view this position.

First, a moderator is just a glorified janitor. So long as it suits the forum’s rules, I do not care. I would never censor or delete a comment because I don’t like it. I will delete spam. I will move threads to the right sections. For example, I will intervene when the action is a clear rules infraction. I will intervene when a thread is in the wrong section of the site. That sort of stuff.

I think my existing history is a good indicator of what I’ll be in the future. I see the role of moderator as being asked to be a janitor. I consider it an honor to be asked to perform this role. If, at any time, you wish to question my actions then I invite you to do so. However, I don’t actually anticipate there being any reasons to do so. Basically, this just means I have to flag fewer threads/comments and can simply deal with them myself.

Also, I’ve moderated large forums before. I’ve just never moderated with XenForo. It can’t be that much different behind the scenes. I do ask that you be lenient with me for the first couple of days. I’ll be erring on the side of caution – choosing not to act immediately until I know for certain what the outcome will be when I press a button. So, have some patience and I’ll be up to speed in short order, and thank you for reading this novella.
 


Thanks and happy to be here. Life's been good so far. It doesn't look like it's going to be a ton of extra work, so that's good. I'm still rooting around for things like thread tools, but I'll get it sorted out.
 
Gday KGIII. Now we have 2 Super Mods to put up with??!!.....out ‘world’ may never be the same !
Seriously....we welcome you with open arms, David.

The posts and topics you have made here since joining show your mettle, and your empathy towards those who do not understand Linux as well as others.

Your presence here as Super Moderator no.2, will bring about a perhaps even more relaxed atmosphere, taking some of the load off Super Moderator no.1, Chris (@wizardfromoz)

I, for one, absolutely look forward to the interaction you will have with Linux.org. I am quite certain that the entire membership will join me in saying, You are More than Welcome here.
 
You are More than Welcome here.

Aww... Shucks... You're gonna make me blush!

More seriously, thanks. In the time I've been here, I've flagged a lot of spam comments and this just makes it a little quicker. I'm just an additional janitor in a place that doesn't need a whole lot of cleaning. For the most part, there's not much to do. The site is full of smart people who behave themselves.

So, yay? I get to sweep the floors, take out the trash, and wax the floors.

Amusingly, I am still missing the magic buttons that let me do anything. I suspect it's a permissions issue. I have the title! So, there's that!
 
@KGIII... congratulations, David! I still lurk around the forum here, and as a former mod myself I do believe you have all the "right stuff" to help keep things flowing smoothly, both technically and socially. I've enjoyed your intro here, but I've also enjoyed your interactions here since you arrived. Well done, and good luck!
 
Well done, and good luck!

Thanks!

My major issue with accepting the position is that I should be able to resign with no hard feelings (if I run out of time to devote to the task). I was willing to accept the role, but that condition was the only condition I had.

Seeing you here, as an ex-mod, helps me believe that can and will be true.
 
Late in to "the office" today, still catching up.

Fortunately less work to do with Approvals, as the "Approvals fairy" has passed through before me. :)

Welcome David, looking forward to the future.

The Janitor.
 
Welcome David, looking forward to the future.

Thanks!

I'm reminded of some lyrics from the Gin Blossom's song:

"If you don't expect too much from me, you might not be let down."
 
Welcome to the community @KGIII(Even though you've already been here a while)! That's a fast promotion, from introduction post to Super moderator within a day :D Interesting read your introduction! Do you by any chance happen to enjoy Marilyn Manson's music?
 
Do you by any chance happen to enjoy Marilyn Manson's music?

I like his cover of Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) better than I like the original. He has a few other songs that I'm familiar with. I don't seek him out very often - but I don't cringe or change the channel when he pops up. He's in a few of my playlists.

I have an extensive music collection and have digitized a ton of it, including records. So, I can make some pretty great playlists. Having performed as long as I did, I tend to think I do well at deciding which music to play in which order.

Wow it is nice to watch the power players in action.

Yes, very important! :cool:

LOL I'm just a janitor. I help stop you from having to deal with the trash and I help keep the place clean.

If I have to remove non-spam comments, I'll be pretty disappointed. I have two children. I know how to make people feel guilty.
 
First, a moderator is just a glorified janitor.
Welcome KGIII
An interesting read, and agree with your quote as I am a moderator on another site where I am also security to ensure the interactions on the site are amicable and polite as discussions can become quite animated and can begin to glow, to say the least.
 
Well....Welcome "New Guy" :D

LOL Thanks!

Like most things in life, I saw a pool and jumped in head first and just started participating. It's what I do!
 
Hmm... There's a joke in there about y'all being 'off the deep end', but it's not really applicable. So, yeah, I got nothing!
 
Well I am a jump in with both feet kinda guy. I just installed an RGB strip in the new ASUS build, and Steam to just compare the APU's between that and my HP desktop. ASUS - AMD 2 Core vs HP Intel I5 5 Cores and the AMD wins out. Just installed Clementine on Mint. Great Music player, even Internet radio stations.

Next...get that RGB strip controlled in Linux Mint.
 
On numerous ocassions I’ve said, “I should really do an intro thread.” The reasons for that aren’t ego, it’s that I’ve got a ton of stories from a life lived on the edge. My life has been pretty great – but I admit that I’m rather biased!

If you’re not actually interested in my intro, please scroll down and read the last four paragraphs. Those paragraphs are actually a little important.

I was hatched in 1957 and poor behavior got me sent away to a ritzy private boarding/prep school. It was there that I realized that mathematics was a language and that would guide much of my life.

While I was younger, I begged my parents to let me buy a guitar. Eventually they capitulated, but the agreement was that I’d study classical guitar. This too was yet another aspect that would heavily influence my life.

In school, we actually had some really neat computers and a connection the mainframe at Dartmouth. I avoided the two of them as much as I could. We did have an observatory and I used to smoke weed and look at the stars.

Anyhow, I’d graduate and attempt to start a band. We did alright but we were young and things fell apart in a spectacular fashion rapidly. This meant I’d join the Marines and use the GI Bill to go to school.

I was first an EE major with a math minor. I liked math, so I’d go to grad school with Applied Mathematics being my goal. Between undergrad and grad I’d once again enlist as I had no way to pay for grad school and the school wasn’t all that helpful with funding.

Yes, I’m technically entitled to the honorary of Dr. KGIII.

My thesis was about modeling vehicular traffic. Simplified, it was about applying values to the metrics to make accurate outcome predictions in traffic throughput and conjestion. This was accurate enough to enable me to start my own business. There, my company would expand to modeling all sorts of types of traffic, from pedestrian to fleet vehicles and more.

During this time, I’d play in many bands ‘cause I needed the money. That tells you how poor I was, ‘cause musicians don’t make very much money. Only a very select few make serious money, the rest are lucky to average out to make minimum wage.

I’d move, open more offices, and travel a great deal. Throughout it all, music was a constant companion. Though I studied classical guitar, I played everything but. It was great and I even embodied the musician lifestyle.

That was pretty complicated to pull off, as I had two kids at home. I was a single parent for reasons too long to detail in this intro post. But, if you put it all together, you’ll see that it was a hectic life. There were not many moments where I didn’t have something to do, when I didn’t have some obligation to fulfill.

That life would continue until the year 2007. That’s when the economy went to hell in a handbasket. Our government (United States) declared they’d solve everything by stimulating the economy. Among the stimuli was billions of dollars to be spent on the highway infrastructure.

This made my company even more valuable and I was offered a sum that I simply would have had to have been stupid to refuse. At the time of the sale, I employed about 235 people. I spoke with many of them and it was generally agreed that I’d have to be an idiot to not take the money and run. So, I did.

Today I’m happily retired. I live in a very remote area of Maine. I still play guitar, sometimes even performing. The differences are now I have a giant guitar collection, don’t need the money, and can easily afford all the gear.

I also have a collection of cars that I’ve been accumulating over the intervening years. They’re assets that I appreciate and they’re assets that appreciate. So, I appreciate them. What I like about collecting cars is that there’s always so much more to learn. Even the history of automobile manufacturing is complex and interesting.

Linux… How about a little information about how I got there?

My career required heavy use of computers, sometimes doing things that were unheard of at the time. By the late 90s, we were working with data sets that were a full terabyte in size. This required giant disk arrays and racks upon racks of clustered servers. On the desktop, and in an business admin role, I used Windows. However, my previous experience was with Unix.

When I retired, I was no longer beholden to others. I didn’t need interoperability. I was able to decide which OS I preferred and that OS was various Linux distros. Once I was able to, I switched exclusively to Linux and haven’t really looked back. I did spend far too long learning to use distros and not learning to use Linux. If I could go back and change that, I would. I’d have spent more time understanding what was going on under the hood rather than learning to use all the bits and bobs added onto the system by the distro devs.

Finally, and the final action that motivated me to write this introduction is that I’ve been offered, and have accepted, a volunteer position here on the site as a moderator. I wanted to touch on that and explain how I view this position.

First, a moderator is just a glorified janitor. So long as it suits the forum’s rules, I do not care. I would never censor or delete a comment because I don’t like it. I will delete spam. I will move threads to the right sections. For example, I will intervene when the action is a clear rules infraction. I will intervene when a thread is in the wrong section of the site. That sort of stuff.

I think my existing history is a good indicator of what I’ll be in the future. I see the role of moderator as being asked to be a janitor. I consider it an honor to be asked to perform this role. If, at any time, you wish to question my actions then I invite you to do so. However, I don’t actually anticipate there being any reasons to do so. Basically, this just means I have to flag fewer threads/comments and can simply deal with them myself.

Also, I’ve moderated large forums before. I’ve just never moderated with XenForo. It can’t be that much different behind the scenes. I do ask that you be lenient with me for the first couple of days. I’ll be erring on the side of caution – choosing not to act immediately until I know for certain what the outcome will be when I press a button. So, have some patience and I’ll be up to speed in short order, and thank you for reading this novella.
ok, I'm a litle jealous, lol. In my opinion, your intro was great! Very compelling, and captivating. Bravo!
 

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