Skills

Scannable inventory for hiring conversations. Chronological depth lives on the experience page.

Certifications & licenses

CompTIA Network+ (May 2009)

Networking fundamentals and troubleshooting foundation. Certificate on LinkedIn.

Amateur radio — Technician & General (2023)

Both exams same sitting. Callsign KQ4GKO. VoIP, APRS, Winlink, and computer/network integration. License on LinkedIn.

BE/E (1988)

Basic Electricity and Electronics — first formal exposure to electronics.

AWS coursework

Technical Essentials Parts 1 & 2

Completed on AWS Skill Builder. Coursework — not a certification.

Also held: Network+, ham Technician & General, BE/E. Associate AWS certs are on the study path.

Cloud Transitioning

AWS Essentials Skill Builder Parts 1–2 completed
Account MFA Root + PowerUser (normal login)
Portfolio projects Listed here as they ship
Target roles Remote-only CloudOps / Cloud / SA path

Linux & systems

Linux path RH → M-distro → Debian → Ubuntu; many distros tried
Debian Primary ongoing desktop/server OS
Ubuntu Sometimes — ongoing secondary
Slackware Strong affinity — Unix roots
Gentoo Single-core 64-bit Pentium laptop; ~3-week updates
Hardware PC builds, Raspberry Pi, servers
Windows Long-running use; Win11 dual-boot Qubes ~2022–23
Qubes OS ~2022–2023 dual-boot Win11; ~1 year security-focused use

Server software & hosting

Apache / Nginx Web server experience
Asterisk VoIP; 2024 SHARI/AllStar node config (stretch learning)
AllStar / SHARI Node 655760 · 24/7 East Coast Reflector
cPanel / email Hosting control and mail administration
Private server (CH) SSH-managed host for a period

Virtualization

VirtualBox Create and configure VMs when needed
Qubes (Xen-based) ~2022–23 dual-boot Win11; compartmentalized desktop
Guest networking Host/guest workflows and isolation

Networking

Network+ May 2009 · certificate on LinkedIn
Ethernet / cabling Structured cabling and field work
Starlink 2 installs (handyman context)
Client IT Internet outages, PCs, printers, networks for clients

AI ~2 years

Prompt / context Practical engineering of prompts and context
STORM workflows Stanford STORM — study and use
Tooling Grok, agent-assisted editing, PowerShell

Security posture

Compartmentalization Habits from Qubes-era daily use
Hygiene MFA, credential care, least-access thinking

Operations & foundation

Self-employed handyman Since 2009 — trade + ad hoc client IT
Work prefs Remote only; FT / PT / temporary; seeking the right company
Construction ~35 years, off and on
BE/E 1988 — first formal electronics exposure
Client work Show up, communicate, finish

Network+ BE/E Ham Tech+General 2023 KQ4GKO SHARI 655760 AllStar Debian Ubuntu Slackware Gentoo Early-90s micros Apache Nginx Asterisk VirtualBox Qubes Starlink AWS path AI tooling

Chronological detail

Dates, narrative, and room for more entries as the archive grows.

View experience