21 October 2021

Self Promotion

I was talking to one of my co-workers the other day, and the topic of self-promotion came up. I was telling him all about how he had to get better at telling others how good he is at creating digital music… and then I realized that I was horrible at it.

So this post is here for promoting me.

Hi, my name is Dan, and I’m a geek.

I’ve done a lot of geeky things.

I’m Self-Taught.

All the programming and system administration capabilities I possess have been achieved through determination. No formal education has furthered that. No classes. No certifications. (I did go to college for a while, and technically I have a 2.96 GPA, but I never finished because they failed me for bogus reasons; I think I have like three credits or six credits left to get my Associate’s degree.)

I’ve been programming since the turn of the millennium, mostly on web applications. I taught myself PHP.

I learned system administration because it interested me, and because there was a need at the place I worked. I watched the owner peck away at a console until I learned the password and gave myself access. I officially became system administrator through sheer force of will. Within a few months, I was administering two dozen servers, with all but a couple of them running various flavors of Linux.

I learned PHP through reading and experimentation.

Is there more to the story? Yes. Quite honestly, this story has been in my drafts since 2014… So it has been time to publish it for a while. So, for better or worse, here it is / was. Lol.

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14 May 2021

About William B. (McLean) Falconer

This is the preface to a series of posts I will be making about my Grandfather, William B. (McLean) Falconer. They are direct excerpts from the book, “Rhymes of a Pioneer, A Burleigh County Pioneer” that he wrote.

William B. (McLean) Falconer, son of Daniel A. Falconer, an 1871 Dakota Pioneer, and Effie McLean, also a Pioneer, was born on April 23, 1889, on Section 26 in Lincoln township, Dakota Territory, where he has lived for over 70 years.

He was married to Kathryn Lewis in 1918. He voluteered for service with Company A in 1917, but was rejectd.

Father of three boys and one daughter, three of whom served their country in the last World War, and one son in Korea.

Attended grade school in Lincoln school District and high school in old William Moore school in Bismarck.

He served ten years as a member of the North Dakota State Legislature, where he made a vigorous effort to support legislation that would do the greatest good for the greatest number.

He was state purchasing agent for two and one-half years. Served as clerk and director of Lincol School District for thirty years and as Burleigh County Judge since February 2, 1949.

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