I'm a Front-end Engineer and Tester. I help teams build responsive, accessible and maintainable websites. I'm also available for friendly and patient online consulting.
Check out my WebdriverIO Test Automation Course or watch my free coding tutorials on YouTube.
A brief history of me
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June 1985
Saw first light
In June of 1985, I was born into this world. The youngest of 6, I enjoyed a childhood full of adventure through the Texas Hill Country.
Me at 2 weeks old. -
1988
Fell off horse → Broke collarbone
When I was three, my sister, brother and myself were out for a neighborhood horseride.
As we returned home, we began to head up a steep uphill path. A combination of the incline, being seated in the rear of an overcrowded saddle, and being three years old, caused me to lose my grip and fall backwards off the horse.
My shoulder caught the brunt of the fall, resulting in a clean snap of my clavicle.
This was the start of many horse-related incidents.
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1990
Stepped on by horse → ER visit
When I was five, my sister and I were at a local rodeo. We just finished a short ride on her horse to get to her friends. As I was getting off from the horse, I slipped and fell to the ground.
The sound spooked the horse, who, in an attempt to step away from me, stepped on me in two spots. This was my first and only ambulance ride (knock on wood).
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1998
<html>
I typed my first html tag (<font>) in an attempt to spice up my email signature for my WebTV email address.
Anyone remember this screen? -
1999
Created my first website
I published my first personal website on my brother's server space from his University.
Contents included: Frames, Best of Boerne Police Blotter, links to various resources on the web, and a page with a flying animated gif of Ralph Wiggum eating paste
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2000
Bucked off a horse
At the age of 15, I was riding at a ranch in West Texas. As I headed back to the house, the horse I was riding started bucking wildly.
I lasted a couple of bucks but quickly decided I was safer off of the horse than on. I "let go" and flew wildly to the ground.
I walked the remaining mile back to the house, hyperventilating most of the way there.
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Jan. 2001
Broke Collarbone (again)
I broke my other clavicle while sprinting down the side of the soccer field. An opposing player tripped me up, sending me shoulder first into the hard ground.
This especially sucked, as it was the first time I started the game on the field, and the coach was really happy with my play. By the time I returned that season, it was basically already over. Blegh.
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2004
First "Professional" Site: A Gift and A Card
A friend of a friend wanted a website for their homemade greeting card business. Seeking a challenge, I spent the next year-and-a-half learning PHP, MySQL and general application development.
In hindsight, an out-of-the-box solution would have been much better, but the things I learned from that project propelled me to where I am today.
Not the greatest of designs, but I was certainly proud of it at the time -
March 2006
Proposed to Katie Lewis (Then climbed Guadalupe Peak)
In the early Spring of 2006, I proposed to Katie Lewis. We then took a trip west to Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains National Park.
At GMNP, Katie and I took an 8-hour round-trip hike up to the peak of Texas. I'm still not sure which was harder, climbing the mountain or proposing to a girl.
Hey Katie, remember the mini-static lightning? -
June 2006
Graduated from The University of Texas at Dallas
After three years of coursework, I earned my Bachelor of Arts in Arts and Technology.
Some topics I studied while there: Web Development, 3D Modeling, Java, Film, Piano, Writing, Entrepreneurship, Game Design, Photography, Sketching, Sculpture
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2007
Built Patty Mohlke Photography
Patty Mohlke, 1951-2009, was a freelance photographer who wanted to share the beauty she saw in the world with others.
To help her vision, I created a PHP/MySQL photography website where she could upload and sell her photographs.
This work has special meaning to me, due to her being family, her wonderful photography, and her fight with ALS.
We miss her to this day.
Just one of Patty's many wonderful photographs. -
Spring 2008
Tore my Meniscus playing soccer
My first real surgery came after tearing my Meniscus during my first game back to soccer after taking an extended four year break from playing regularly.
It took several months of physical therapy, a funky knee brace, and a positive MRI result for me to determine that I needed the surgery.
Thankfully, surgery went well, and I was back on the field within a couple months
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Fall 2008
Became a Teacher
In the fall of 2008, I decided to become a High School Teacher. I'll never forget the lessons I learned in those short 7 months.
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July 2009
Woke up to a brand new world
On the morning of July 12th, Katie Lamping woke me up excitedly with a positive pregnancy test strip. My first reaction? Laughing.
9 months later our first child was born. We've had two more since.
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June 2010
Flew a Helicopter
As a birthday present, Katie bought me a "discovery flight" on a helicopter. It was such a fun experience and I'm amazed at how real heli pilots do it.
I definitely want to repeat it sometime.
Taking off for my discovery helicopter flight -
June 2011
Flew a Plane
You can't fly a helicopter and not fly a plane as well. For the second year in a row, Katie bought me another discovery flight.
This time I took off out of Bulverde, Texas, and flew a Piper Cherokee over the Texas Hill Country.
Flying over Canyon lake during my discover plane flight -
Oct. 2015
Bought our first house
After years of saving and planning, we finally bought our first house. It's a wee bit old, but we love it.
Homeowning is just one of those things worth mentioning in a personal timeline.
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March 2016
Tore my Achilles Tendon
I had just subbed back in to the soccer game when I felt a "pop" shoot through my left leg.
The sound of my tendon tearing was loud enough for the goalkeeper on my team to hear.
It took a surgery, two months in a cast and four months of physical therapy before I touched the soccer field again.
Horses and soccer; they're just no good for me :)
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May 2016
Launched learn.webdriver.io
I've done many, many side projects over the years, but this online course is by-far my most successful side project.
I've written about the work a few times, so check out the posts if you're interested
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July 2018
YouTube channel hit 1000 subscribers
Many years ago I started a YouTube channel posting random content. Last year I started posting real tutorial videos to it.
Amazingly, over 1k people have subscribed to my content, and the number continues to grow
I'm not really sure where the channel is headed, but I'm proud to have it come this far already
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The Future
What's next?
That's the big question.
I have plans, but I really don't know where I'm headed.
Whatever it is, I'll post about it here if it's big enough :)