Hide it under a bushel? Not anymore...

I tried to cover my shine

I've tried staying in the lines

I, I, I don't wanna hide

No, not tonight

“Ready or Not” – Britt Nicole

I walk the line

I stay out the way, yeah

Never speak my mind

Living in a shade of grey…

I played it safe

Been afraid my whole life

Now things have changed

Won't stay silent this time

“Not backing down” – Blanca

In a world full of bitter pain and bitter doubt

I was trying so hard to fit in, fit in

Until I found out...

That I don't belong here

I don't belong here

I will carry a cross and a song where I don't belong

I don't belong

“Beautiful Letdown” – Switchfoot

I guess my desire to work with technology started with the radio-controlled vehicles I asked for at Christmas time as a kid. Though I drifted away from them for a time, they are once again part of my life.

In high school, the computer teacher let me work on the computers, installing something, a couple times. I studied BASIC programming in that class and office-type computing in another.

I was more interested in computer hardware, but started in programming at Fairmont State, studying PASCAL, Assembler, and COBOL. I wasn't a good programmer, so I switched majors to Electronics Engineering Technology, where you study electronics and some programming...

We studied electronic components, and built an 8088 Single Board Computer in the Microcomputer classes. My previous experience with Assembler helped in this class - but we actually used commands, instead of writing the commands ourselves.

I took a Linux class, and through the class found out about an opening, and worked for a short time as a Student Worker in IT. A semester or two after I graduated, a part-time position opened in the Library at the Caperton Center. Someone retired, and I went full-time about 2 years later. I was transferred to Fairmont in 2008, and have been there since.

I've done basic HTML 4. My long-gone but backed up somewhere geocities page about the GM 2.8 V6 and the Varajet carburetor still leads the occasional person to me with a question. A couple of them have been from Australia.

During this time, I attended a church where I ran the sound equipment and fixed minor things. One night the VGA cable got cut almost completely apart, and needed fixed by the next morning. Before I left, we were meeting in another location which required set-up and tear down of the computer and sound equipment each week.

In 2006, I moved to another church. I started running the computer (Windows XP and EasyWorship) to display song lyrics on the wall and videos when necessary. I became a member and was elected to the Board as a Trustee in 2007.

The XP computer at the church was getting old, so we got a Mac. On Easter morning, the XP computer stopped working. The Mac had been picked up the day before... So, between sunrise/breakfast and 9:30, I installed ProPresenter and learned enough of the Mac to use it at 10:30. I am also a Sunday School teacher for a small class.

I run the computer Sunday mornings and evenings and Wednesdays when I am there. It involves finding videos, sometimes downloading them, and displaying things on the wall. Sometimes, I know more than 10 minutes ahead of time... Occasionally, we have guest speakers or missionaries with videos to play. Once in a while, we will take part in a simulcast, which requires set up. When I started, the projector was set on a plastic tote at the front so it would shine on the wall. Now, there is one on each side and one that shines on the back wall. I run the sound equipment when necessary, too.

I started going to Church Camp in 2007 - they asked about 2006, but I couldn't get off work again to go. At camp, I take pictures, some video, run the sound equipment, and the computer equipment. We have to take everything and set it up when we arrive. There is basically no internet access at camp, so all videos, songs, etc. must be found before we leave.

Lately, I have started trying to teach myself programming using the BASIC Stamp and the Arduino Uno. I have followed instructions found online and made a motion activated camera and a few other things. My goal is to create an autonomous vehicle for something like the Sparkfun Autonomous Vehicle Challenge, or find/start something locally, since the AVC is in Denver. 

I have an OWI robotic arm that will fit on a radio controlled vehicle, but it is limited by a 40ft control cable - I have a wireless drone camera that mounts on it to see and a mic assembled from a kit with an FM transmitter to hear.

I found a Raspberry Pi marked down at Radio Shack, and have been experimenting with it. It requires the Linux operating system to be installed on an SD card, and makes a tiny system when paired with a touch screen. I also found a BeagleBone Black (Linux single board computer), but I haven't done much with it. 

Taking an old soon to be discarded laptop, I swapped out the hard drive and it is now dual-boot with two versions of Linux. I know very basic things about Linux, but am trying to learn more. Linux seems to have become more user friendly since my earlier class.

I bought an inexpensive Android tablet last year at Walmart so I could learn that system. It has a micro-SD slot, and is useful for watching videos and looking at repair information. 

My check engine light came on, so I bought an inexpensive code reader, to try to fix the problem. I've used it on a half dozen other vehicles since then.

I have now finished a Board of Regents Bachelor of Arts degree. This included "Trends and Issues in 21st Century schools" and "Advanced Digital Literacy". “Security/Insecurity in Global Politics” helped with the “Terrorism” class, which helped a little with “American Military History”. The “Network Defense” class was hands-on using Kali Linux. Portions of those classes helped with “CyberCrime”, “Information Security”, and “Computer Systems Security”. “Interpersonal Dynamics” showed the importance of Emotional Intelligence. The world needs more “Ethical Leadership”.

I like to build things. It doesn't matter whether electrical, mechanical, or a combination of the two. I am currently building a small autonomous vehicle, a small line-following vehicle, and few security devices. I work with metal, wood, and plastic.

I like to fix things. I like the feeling of taking something broken, and making it work again. I have rebuilt a carburetor, changed front wheel bearings, fixed computers, changed bail springs in fishing reels, and many other tasks. The old truck I had wouldn’t start one day, so I rebuilt the carburetor in the morning/afternoon to go to work that evening.  I don't mind doing routine maintenance tasks. My introduction to a firearm usually includes taking it apart and putting it back together. I take RC vehicles apart, try to fix them, and put them back together. If something can't be fixed, I try to salvage useable parts.

I like to help people. I joined the County Community Emergency Response Team to learn more and to be able to help people in the event of an emergency. I try to help out when I can.

General interests include: hiking, fishing, hunting, electronics, mechanical things, automotive, computers, tools, fabrication, writing, disaster preparation, search and rescue, robotics, research, security, and related areas. Looking for new connections, primarily in these areas, will also accept others.

Writing is something I’ve done for many years, but mainly just saved things to my computer, and not shared them.

That has changed.

I have an article published in “American Gunsmith” magazine, and plan for a few more.

Embedded Related was looking for people to submit content.   https://www.embeddedrelated.com/blogs-1/nf/Ed_Nutter.php

I am currently working on a series of articles about Military and Police Autonomous Vehicles.

“Finding God in the little things: With God on the firing line” hasn’t published itself… Neither has “Finding God in the little things: Poetry”… I’m also about 34 pages into writing a supernatural action novel.

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time…

I don't want to be

Anything other than what I've been trying to be lately

All I have to do is think of me

And I have peace of mind

I'm tired of looking 'round rooms

Wondering what I've got to do

Or who I'm supposed to be

I don't want to be anything other than me

“I don’t want to be” – Gavin DeGraw

Welcome to the new age…

“Radioactive” – Imagine Dragons