What Linux Distro do I use?

I use Linux Mint 22! I wish I could use it full time, because frankly I don’t like Microsoft spying on me.

Unfortunately most days I am still stuck on Windows 11 because I play some games that don’t run on Linux, and I also use Photoshop extensively in my art, and there’s just no competitor that can match my workflow. And like it or not, Microsoft Office is still better and more useable than anything being offered on Linux. Although ‘Only Office’ is a pretty strong contender, if they would just make their mobile apps better, because right now updating my budget on the go is just too painful with Only Office, but using MS Excel across platforms is pretty seamless.

But anytime I don’t need to play a windows-only game or use Photoshop, you’ll find me on Linux Mint. Currently I use the Cinnamon desktop environment, but I have my panel layout heavily modified to look more like a modern update to Gnome 2, because I’m old-school like that

What’s my favorite Star Trek Series?

Star Trek Strange New Worlds has been a breath of fresh air. Anson Mount’s Captain Pike is easily one of the coolest and most likable Star Trek captains ever put to screen. All of the characters are incredibly interesting, the stories are both fun and engaging, and the series is a return to the wonder and exploration of classic Star Trek. Not to mention the episodic format that maintains character development throughlines is incredibly welcome during these times when the serialized format is pretty much everywhere, and frankly lowering the quality of the storytelling. With every episode of every show being a mail-biting cliffhanger, it just gets exhausting after a while. Not to mention that format limits the scope of what kinds of stories a show can tell. But with Strange New Worlds, virtually anything is possible, and apart from the occasional multi-episode arcs, every week’s episode is something new and fun to look forward to!

Why do I love Star Wars so much?

I was raised on Star Wars, so I was always a fan, but in 1995, I got my hands on a PC demo of a new game called Star Wars: Dark Forces, a Doom-like first person shooter that put me in the shoes of a hero from a Galaxy far, far away like never before, and I was hooked! If that wasn’t enough, its sequel, Star Wars Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight (and its expansion Mysteries of the Sith) REALLY drove it home. Those games made me see Star Wars as so much bigger and deeper than the movies and I just couldn’t get enough. I would play online with friends, think about it at school, come up with new, original characters and draw them. I wanted to BE a Jedi. I wanted to know more about the Sith. Then the Special Editions hit theaters and I got to experience them on the big screen for the first time. Then I discovered the books, which drew me in further. And then The Phantom Menace reignited the whole world’s passion for Star Wars, and I was all in. My endless curiosity drove me to learn as much about that universe as possible. I wanted to understand Star Wars the way George Lucas (and later Dave Filoni) understood it…and I succeeded!

What was my first game console?

Well my first game console was my cousin’s Atari 2600. I was young, and the simplicity of games like Breakout, Space Invaders, Centipede, Missile Command, etc. made it easy for me to enjoy playing, even if I wasn’t very good at them. But the first console I got that was MINE from the start was the Nintendo Entertainment System. Super Mario Bros. & Duck Hunt, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,, Dr. Mario, Gauntlet II, Star Tropics, etc. The list goes on and on. What a great time to be a gamer!

While my friends got the SNES, my next leap forward was the Sega Genesis because of a little game called Mortal Kombat. Maybe you’ve heard of it? (The government certainly did…🙄). Mortal Kombat was a bit like Star Wars in the way its story ignited my imagination and drew me in. If Star Wars held the title as my main obsession, Mortal Kombat was certainly a contender.

That franchise single-handedly drove every game console upgrade I got through to the PS4. Whenever a new Mortal Kombat game released on a new console generation, that’s when I upgraded! This went on from MK on Genesis to MK11 on PS4. Then WB Games ruined it with MK1 (I got it on PC and hated it), and now I’m done with that franchise.

How did I get into Computers and Cyber Security?

In 1995 this little movie called Hackers came out. Of course I didn’t see it when it first released in theaters, but rather a year or so later when it hit cable. And it changed my life. Suddenly computers had a whole new allure for me like I’d never imagined before. They were no longer just a thing for doing homework and chatting on AOL. Now I was seeing the real power of these revolutionary devices, and the world of possibilities they offered.

I wanted to know how they worked, and what they could do. I was drawn in by the forbidden temptations of making them do things they weren’t meant to be used for. I initially dabbled with AOL Punters and RAT tools. But that got old after a while. it would be many years before I got access to the resources to learn TRUE hacking.

So in the meantime I learned about the hardware. Learned how to build and customize PCs, how to install and configure operating systems, and shortly after the release of Windows XP I got certified as a PC repair technician and Windows XP Expert. I got an IT job at a small novelty company, building new PCs for them, maintaining the company’s backups, and doing general tech support. I eventually moved into freelance PC repair, where I was becoming more annoyed with incompetent users, and more frustrated with the increasing threat of computer viruses. Hacking still had quite a bit of allure for me, but I was also seeing how those skills would be put to better use defending systems from cyber criminals.

With penetration testing and ethical hacking becoming more mainstream I finally had easy access to the knowledge and resources to learn how to be a “White Hat” hacker. And as much as I’ve learned already, I still have a LONG way to go before I’d feel confident working in the Cyber Security field, and frankly that proficiency feels like a goal-post that keeps moving. But I’ve at least learned enough to be VERY “paranoid” about online privacy and security! Trust me, if you saw the things I’ve seen…your passwords would be ridiculously long strings of random numbers, letters, and symbols stored in an encrypted password manager! it is absolutely SCARY how easy it is to compromise the average person’s online security and commit all sorts of crimes against them. 😱

What drove me to become a 3D artist?

In 1997, while obsessing over Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II and Mortal Kombat 4, I became frustrated by my limited drawing skills and my inability to draw the characters and ideas these games inspired with any degree of realism. Both games were 3D, which made me want to improve my art even more. After reading that the Mortal Kombat 4 character models were created in Lightwave 3D, I set out to get a copy and learn how to use it. Thus began many years of learning 3D modeling, but I was never able to master modeling people. I continued to research and came across a program called Poser 4.

Poser 4 allowed me to customize pre-built character models by adjusting their shapes and features, adding clothes and hair, and posing them. Over several versions of Poser, I got better at making characters, but I still felt limited. Eventually, the most popular maker of models for Poser launched their own competing software, Daz Studio 3D. While it wasn’t great at first, by version 4 it had really surpassed anything Poser was doing, and I made Daz Studio my primary character builder. During all this time, I also studied photography, lighting, and even a bit of physics to hone my skills with image composition, camera settings, and lighting techniques.

On the non-character side, I grew frustrated with the limitations and stalled innovation of Lightwave 3D and its generally awkward workflow. I had tried Blender once or twice, but its UI was atrocious—at least until version 2.8, when everything changed. I got Blender 2.8 and fully committed myself to learning to use it as my primary modeler. I reached a point where I practically lived in Blender, especially during the pandemic, making something new every day to get better and always challenging myself.

Fast forward to today: I have an extensive library of high-quality characters and character accessories in Daz Studio, several custom-made characters of my own with presets to quickly load them up for whatever my next project is, and a large library of Star Wars furniture and props that I made using Blender 3D and Substance Painter. I’ve developed a well-oiled workflow and a distinct artistic style. I can create just about any kind of art, but my favorite subject to make art for is Star Wars. And once again, it all started because of a video game!