The about section is always a tough one for me on any site. I’m never quite sure what to say. So here goes nothing.

Just The Facts Mam.

My name is John Hobbs, I’m a fourth year MIS student at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. I work part time on campus at the STATPack project writing in a bevy of languages, mostly C++ though.

The technologies I get most excited about are web based. I was never able to teach myself much C++, I had to learn it in school, but I’ve taught myself loads of PHP, JavaScript, CSS, Perl, Python and other web technology. I absolutely love building a new site or idea from the ground up. Even though frameworks might be faster, I usually prefer to just write the whole thing myself. That’s not to say I don’t re-use code, just that I don’t do it much. My most used library is mootools for JavaScript.

That doesn’t mean I don’t like C++, I’ve actually gotten quite fond of writing it with gtkmm for the GUI. I’m not terribly advanced though, I don’t have a lot experience that imbues me with best practices and advanced techniques, mostly because I’ve never had to worry about it yet.

What This Site Is And Isn’t

This site is a kind of tech journal for me. I use it to keep track of things I find, things I code, and what I think about various topics. That doesn’t mean that everything on here is going to be tech related, but most of my life is, so most of it will be. This is also a place to stretch my writing muscles. I don’t normally write content, only code, so the hard won skills from my 12th grade English AP class atrophy. Here I can write in a variety of styles and keep from getting too weak.

The Geeky Stuff

As far as outlining my opinions in the technical realm, there isn’t much to say. I love gadgets, I love code. I’m a huge supporter of Open Source, (aren’t all computer college students?) and I prefer Linux over Mac OS over Windows. Unlike many college-student-linux fans I actually run it on my machines and use it daily (since December 2006). It was a process that took a long time to get used to, but now I feel at home in many environments.

At first I did this because Linux was a novelty and one giant computer playground for me to learn in. Now I’m glad I did this, because Linux is slowly edging deeper and deeper into the corporate realm, and I have a head start in that.

I’ve gotten closer to the internals of Linux and the administrative tools through my work at STATPack. We do a lot of tricky stuff to OpenSuSE to lock it down and do what we want. I’ve learned to hate the package manager of SuSE this way.

For the lowdown on the gear I use, see this vague and cluttered gear page.

Kick Me A Fat Beat

I’m way into music. I love listening, writing and playing music. I play the guitar and have a decent mastery over Cubase. I’m also a gear junkie. I love audio toys as much as I love any other gadget, and guitars are the sweetest audio toys there are. I’m in a local band Nikolai and keep my profile packed with fresh listens over at Last.fm

You’re Still Reading?

Here’s my best friend and fiance Darcy. Best woman in the world. We’re getting married on August 23, 2008, and it can’t come too soon.

And here are my best guy friends, who just happen to be in the band (or former members thereof).
From left to right: Ryan, John, Adam, Brandon, and Myself.

Page Updated 2008-03-02