I'm a best-selling author of over 22 computer books, articles, and software manuals, including The Mac Web Server Book, The Mac OS 8 Book, The Mac OS 8.5 Black Book, The Mac OS 8.6 Book, The Mac OS 9 Book, The Mac OS 9.1 Black Book, The Mac OS X Book, The Mac OS X Version 10.1 Black Book, and most recently The Mac OS X v. 10.2 Jaguar Book. I've also served as a technical editor and contributing author, and have spoken at several conventions and workshops, including Mactivity/Web and Macworld Expo.

In addition to writing about computers, I work with Macs and PCs in my "day job" as well. I'm the Chief Information Officer for the North Carolina Hospital Association, which is located in Cary, NC, a suburb of Raleigh. NCHA is a trade association for about 137 hospitals in North Carolina. As the CIO, I'm responsible for all the internal data and IT needs of the organization, and have also served as an ISP to as many as 16 hospitals across the state using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) based frame relay. All the hosting, maintenance and support of the network was done using Macs, of course, including e-mail, Web, FTP, DNS, LDAP, and other services. About 27 of our 31 employees use Macs; those less fortunate use Micron PCs running another operating system. Before coming to NCHA, I worked at Duke for 6 or so years, first supporting the computers in the university's 13 libraries, and then as the Mac specialist for the Office of Information Technology. I met Debbie Suggs in Perkins Library in about 1991, and she and I have written the Black Books together.

I was born in Nashville, TN in 1965 and grew up in the same house in south Nashville until I graduated from John Overton High School in 1984. I joined the US Naval Reserve and served for seven years while I was in college. I spent summers on active duty at NTC, Orlando, FL NTC, Great Lakes, IL Naval Air Station, Memphis, TN Naval Station Norfolk, and Naval Weapons Station, Earle, NJ. My job in the Navy was to manage aircraft ordinance; if you've ever seen a documentary about life on an aircraft carrier, I would be one of the "red shirts" hauling bombs and missiles on the flight deck (a.k.a. an Ordie or a BB Stacker). The ship to which I was assigned, the USS Nashville (LPD-13), was sent into action during the Persian Gulf War, but I was in grad school at the time and was not activated. The coolest thing I ever did in the Navy was to work with the Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) team at Naval Weapons Station, Earle, NJ. I always liked firecrackers as a kid, so working with EOD is the ultimate experience. And yes, I still have all my fingers and toes ;-)

While in the Naval Reserve, I earned a bachelor's degree with a triple-major (English, history, and political science) from MTSU, and a master's degree in theology from Duke University. I'd like to go back to Duke for another graduate degree, but my wife is in graduate school at Duke, and that's punishment enough for now, thank you very much. I'm interested in the history of science and religion, and I'm currently at work on a book about the theology of Star Trek, the idea for which was brought about by the confluence of my interests in astronomy, science, theology, cosmology, and two Star Trek series in particular, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. I've been chipping away at it for about two years now, and if a publisher doesn't pick it up, I'll publish it as an e-book instead. Basically, I'm comparing and illustrating common theological ideas as they are presented in the various Star Trek series and movies. At present, there are over 800 episodes and movies in all, and you might be surprised at the number of theological characters, plot devices, and themes in Star Trek.

I moved to North Carolina in 1988 for grad school, and now I live in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with my wife Virginia, our new daughter Margaret Morgan, and a network of Macs. I used to live in a log cabin in rural Orange County, north of historic Hillsborough and was on the Cedar Grove Volunteer Fire Department for about two years. The odd thing about being a firefighter is that you spend most of your time working vehicle accidents rather than fighting fires; I think I only saw one house fire, but at least a dozen accidents (some were pretty greusom...). I'd like to become a volunteer EMT, but I'm pretty sure my wife would send me to the hospital if I took up one more hobby!

My main computer is a dual 800MHz. G4 with 1GB of RAM and three hard drives, one for different versions of the Mac OS (9.2.2, X 10.2, and the latest beta). I'm a registered Apple developer so I can get legal access to beta seeds and the annual hardware discount (which more than pays for the $500/year cost for ADC membership). We have two American Cocker Spaniels, Miss Bailey of Carolina (buff), and Ruby Marvel Reflection in Red (white with red spots). Bailey is 10 years old and goes by the nickname of Hurricane Bailey because of her temperament. She's loves the attention of all people, but she resents her adopted sister. In other words, she's the alpha female of the pack. Ruby, on the other hand, is shy but very funny; everyone loves Ruby, who goes by the handle of Silly Bomb. Cockers are a little quirky, but as far as pets go, they are perfect because of their size, longevity, and entertainment value. They are hunting dogs, however, which most owners forget, so be prepared to let them burn off excess energy ;-)

I've been saving the best for last: my wife Virginia. VA, pronounced "Vah" by family and friends, is from Goldsboro, NC, home of an Air Force base that housed nukes during the Cold War. She has great "Duck, and Cover!" newsreel stories from her childhood, but I think she was relieved when she left for prep school at St. Mary's School in Raleigh. She went to The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (a.k.a, UNC, or Carolina), majored in English, and spent a summer abroad at Oxford. She recently went back to grad school at Duke, where she has learned to love Duke Basketball. VA has copy edited many of my books, and I'm always nervous when she doesn't because friends don't call her "The Walking Dictionary" for nothing! VA uses a PowerBook G3, but I think we'll get her a 17" iMac or PowerBook really soon ;-)