Josh credits his dad for getting him started reading comics when he was just 4 years old. His dad ran the Sprint NOC in Kansas City (after helping install the first domestic DNS switch in Chicago). He’d often work on weekends due to outages and would bring Josh with him. On their way in to the office, his dad would make sure they stopped at a nearby comic book store for some reading material for Josh. Josh says his dad figured out pretty quickly that he got a lot more work done when they did.
The first superhero Josh met in comic books was actually the Flash. But because “Superman” was the first word he read, he feels a special connection to that character and it remains his favorite. In fact, when he was a kid, Josh was featured in the Kansas City paper for his predictions about how DC Comics would bring Superman back after his “death” in 1994. While Josh’s predictions didn’t pan out, comics are still part of his life today in a way that blends well with his interest in computers.
Saying that Josh is interested in computers is perhaps an understatement. He has, in some form or another, been repairing computers since he was 15 years old. His efforts have resulted in everything from doing call route testing for a company (Josh says he was basically paid to make prank calls for a living), to repairing the systems on Apache helicopters in the Army. Also while in the Army, Josh was awarded the Amy Achievement Ribbon for his work developing a paperless record-keeping system for the Delta Company Timberwolves, which was later adopted by the 1/82 Aviation Battalion.
Today, Josh’s two passions are at play both in his work and home life. During the day, Josh works for TDS, helping customers solve their computer problems. During his off hours, he’s using the computer to work on his CapelessCrusader.org website. He launched the site, devoted to comics and comic book storyline analysis, 18 months ago. It started as his own personal blog about comics, but interest was so strong that now he has a team of contributors and daily features.
Of course, sometimes his two worlds collide, as evidenced by some recent tweets he’s made:
* Locked and loaded for another 12-hour shift!#TechSupport #IronMan (at @tdstelecom w/ 2 others) [pic]: 4sq.com/14AdrMQ
* Hulk SMASH puny Internet problems! #TechSupport(at @tdstelecom) [pic]: 4sq.com/16uyb6y
If repair and comics weren’t enough, Josh also does a bit of community theater in Madison, Wisconsin on the side, having most recently appeared in various roles in Broom Street Theatre’s “Super Hero Boogie” (and has also served as a board member at-large and webmaster for Strollers Theater of Madison). Due to time constraints, he recently turned down an offer to return to the stage to be in “Boogie of the Apes.”
For now, in addition to finding Josh at TDS and on the web, you can find Josh on this blog. After being in computer repair for so long, he has a lot of insights to share. His passion is to make technology more accessible and easy for everyone to access. Based on his first few blogs, it’s clear he a great resource for both TDS and you.
