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| Dad
is a member of the International
Committee
of the Red Cross, International Misfits CB Radio Club, I.A.W.M.D. member. Until about eleven years ago, he worked with radio as a hobby and talked with people from all over the world on both the AM, LSB, USB frequencies, under the call sign "The 148 from the northeast state." He claim's to have talked on a radio shack hundred millowatt radio all the way to NC, USA. from his parents home in South Paris, Maine using the families sheet metal barn roof as an antenna. A few years ago he saw the writing on the wall, when he met his long time friend Robin Schnopp, of whom he has spent a great deal of time with over the last few years. Dad as move from radio to computers. While still trying to keep door's open in the radio community and one finger on the enter key. He as opened, Closed, and reopened the "International QSL Card Maker." The first computer he learned on was Robin's Tandy HX 1000. Dad learned to type with the tandy. At first his average typing speed was one or two words per minute, depending on how many letter where in the word, and weather or not it was a compound word. Then one day Robin introduce him to the local BBS just down the street from where they lived. It wasn't long before he and Robin began to realize that they had out grown her little Tandy and they moved on to a IBM PC clone that was create for a local rent to own company. Then it happened, windows 95 rolled along. Everyone had it and a year after that came the internet in Dad's area. Dad designed his first web site with the help of Robin, in 1997. While surfing the web one day he came upon a free web space host provider out of San Francisco called Geocities.com, his only problem at that time was that Geocities was open to San Francisco residents only. Two week later on a computer tech show called "The Web." He watch the owner of Geocities.com announce to the public that his service was open to the public, and not just San Francisco residents. Armed with nothing more then minimal knowledge of the internet dad went to work an created his first web site using nothing more then the families genealogy. Calling the site, the " Gathering Point" he had a whole five megabytes of free space to work with. While at Geocities.com, dad also created a second genealogy site called "G. Point," As well as a mountain bike site " Down east Mountain bikers," " With each site he designed the site would become more complex. Dad stayed with Geocities.com till the summer of 1999. When Geocities.com made their move and merged with Yahoo.com to form Yahoo - Geocities.com. Dad soon found that he needed more space and moved on to FortuneCity.com It didn't take long before dad found a new home for his creations. Soon after becoming a member at FortuneCity.com dad joined the volunteer program and became a Neighborhood Guide. Working with Mike Pacranch of the Business park district, and later with Lady kathra both former Ministers of the volunteer program at FortuneCity.com. |
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| Lady
Kathra
asked dad one day why he had chosen to join the volunteer staff.
He replied by stating " I feel that it's about time I give something back to the people who have been so kind to me in giving me a place to work with other people whom for the most part, I will most likely never get to meet. After all, helping people is what it's all about. right?" Dad quickly rose through the ranks to become a Fortunecities Minister as well. When he became Minister for the England based web space host. He closed the International QSL card maker site. The new position as Minister of the Silverstone District at FortuneCity.com was short lived. Shortly after the World Wide Web move in to the new millennium FortuneCity.com announced the creation of their New York office and the new look for the server. Seeing the writing on the wall as clear as day. Dad stepped down from his position as Minster at Fortunecity.com, and moved on to newer and better things. Creating "Looking Glass Web Designers." One evening while he was talking with Mike Pacranch. Mike told him about a new service that he had created. After following up on a lead that mike had given him, dad found a resting place for all his sites. After speaking with Mike, dad opened up " Looking Glass." and created his own free web space host provider. Then went on to create a free mail service provider as well, lgmember.zzn.com. Next he set up shop in his very own category for web designers here at Looking Glass. Dad says " I feel something warm an fuzzy inside when I design a web site for someone. It's a good feeling when you've done something that everyone is happy with, and now with my own free web space provider service. I can start to work my way in with the legends of the world wide web as well." In the early spring of 2001 some three month after the web host provider was opened up the host sponsor close down their service Excelland.com with out warning. How did dad deal with this problem? He has came full circle. An moved back to Geocities.com. With Looking Glass Product Evaluations, LG member email service, One would think that my dad has enough on his plate. Dad says, " Hell No! I'm just getting warmed up." He as other projects either in the works, or on the planning table. He has plans for two more site in the works. While he believes that there is a time and a place for everything. He says his next project is still in the planning stages and is classified top secret. ( He won't even tell me and I'm his daughter.) Dad is a creative person always thinking of some way to make his on going ideas work. Many times he has said, " I would love to have a normal 9 to 5 job. But if I did business that way, I'd never get anything done." Dad's long hours and deciction are what keeps him thinking and what keeps those wheels turning. Many times we have walk in on him, expecting to find his chair empty. Only to find him past out face down on the keyboard. Its like Robin says, "It's like a drug, and he's addicted to the thing." When dad starts thinking while working at his computer things start to happen. He'll start pounding away at those keys and won't stop till he's done. Dad has been known to for get everything from doctor's appointments, to eating. An forget the phone he can't hear it once he gets in to his work. What is dad's latest project? He's teaching both my husband and myself the business. He knows he won't be around for ever so he's teaching us to do what he has learned to do. I just hope that we can be as creative as he is. |
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