Here's a little history about Shnerdly.

I was born in 1953 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. considering my age, you can be sure I am a very conservative man. I do the best I can to serve my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in all that I do. All the knowledge I have is a gift from him so I use it to help spread his word and help others the best way I know how.

Though I didn't do particularly well in school according to the record keepers, I did pass all the tests just fine, I just didn't participate in class or do the homework, I think out of boredom. It all seemed so redundant. I was a teenager through the heart of the muscle car era and enjoyed every minute of it. I can honestly say that I have traveled in excess of 150MPH in an automobile and smiled the whole way.

I served in the United States Air Force from which I was honorably discharged in September of 1974.

I bought my first house in 1976 and was married in December of that year. We celebrated our 46th anniversary in December of 2022. We decided when we got married that we would have two children, a boy and a girl. We were instead blessed with a girl and a boy and that made us very happy. They are both grown and married now so my wife and I are now blessed with 4 grandchildren. My wife and I were very fortunate that she was able to be a stay at home Mom during the informative years of our children.

I was working in a factory rebuilding automobile and truck engines when my wife and I met and got married but hated being cooped up inside a building. In 1977 I rekindled an interest in driving. I started driving semi local and over the road in 1978 and have since logged many millions of miles. I was medically disqualified from driving for four years but have since been able to get requalified. In October of 2015 an opportunity came along that I could not pass up. I am now the Owner and Operator of a 1992 Freightliner FLD120. I bought it with a bad engine, repaired it and have been driving it since December of 2015. At the time of this update, Jun 01, 2023, I have put over 600,000 miles on it.

In the early 80's I bought my first computer. It was a Texas Instruments 99-4A which I still have and is still in full working order. It was slow to take but I got the computer bug from my older brother. I learned a little about programming but I am really more of a hardware guy. In the early 90's I began recycling computers, long before it was a popular thing to do. It was not enough income to support my family so I did it part time and drove a semi for our main income. Through that recycling company, I learned a lot more about the hardware and the drivers and software required to make computers work.

We signed up for America Online when it first came out. My son always called me a nerd so that's what I was trying to get for a username and Shnerdly was the closest variation I could get. I decided I liked it and have kept it as a username since then.

In the mid 90's I got my first Cable Modem and decided to network my house so the various computers could all access the internet at the same time. I bought a Linksys BEFSR41 router and spent two weeks figuring it out but I managed to get it all working. I spent the next five years working with networks to learn what I needed to help others with their networking needs. I now have multiple computers networked in my home for various reasons along with two laptops and a WIFI hotspot.

In about 2002 I took an interest in the Linux Operating System and started making a few desktop machines using Arch Linux and the KDE desktop. That evolved into making Web Servers. At one point I had three Web Servers that I maintain, two of which I built and configured. The inherited one was running CentOS which is the Enterprise version of Red Hat. The other two were Arch Linux but I have since moved those 3 servers to a single Debian Linux Web Server that runs from my home and have now added an additional Debian Virtual Private Server through a hosting company. I have truly enjoyed working with the Linux Operating Systems and think it will spread to a much larger market share in desktop computers simply because of the economy, I think Microsoft is pricing themselves out of the top spot not to mention their ridiculous new OS's Win 8, 10 and now 11. They are ALL spyware by definition, tracking everything you do. I've got news for MS. Businesses are not going to be able to migrate to all touch screen computers so Win 8 and 10 won't be very effective for them. If you haven't looked at Linux as an alternative to Windows, you should check it out. I used to use Arch Linux for most of what I do but have switched to Debian for improved stability. For the beginner, Ubuntu is very easy to install and get used to but I avoid it because it has most of the same auto functions that Windows has which is frequently the portal for viruses and malware. I don't allow automatic updates or auto-mount devices on any of my computers. Best of all is that Linux is free and includes most of the productivity software you would need. My current recommended Linux Distro is straight up Debian 11 with the Cinnamon Desktop those wishing to run a Linux Machine with fairly simple setup.

As far as "The Cloud" goes. I will NEVER use any service that uses cloud storage. There is no question that Cloud Services will eventually be hacked. The only question is "When?" Why do I say that? Because, "The Cloud", is not something mysterious, it's just someone elses computer over which you and I have no control at all, not over security, access or even location. As they centralize more and more data on We the People on these Cloud Servers, the database gets more and more desireable to attack by hackers. It's actually quite scary that the Government and the Medical Industry are putting everything in "The Cloud". When they start getting hacked, it's going to be devastating.

Another "NEVER" for me is putting any of my Banking info on my Computer or SmartPhone. Not even using one of the banks "Secure Apps". If you loose your phone, you could potentially loose everything not to mention that there is no such thing as a "Secure App". It was designed by a developer with specific goals in mind that likely includes tracking and data uploads from your phone.

In my own defence, I have to say that what some refer to as paranoia in me, is actually my being overly informed about technology without being programed in someone elses agenda so I see all of the advantages AND disadvantages of the technologies instead of blindly relying on the integrity or more precisely the lack of integrity of those who create the technology.

I should point out that everything I have achieved has been on my own under the guidance of God. I have no formal education in anything to do with computers or networking. My only training was the minimal electronics training I received in the United States Air Force.

Shnerdly