[{"_1":2,"_72":-5,"_73":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_44":45},"root",{"_5":-5,"_6":-5,"_7":8,"_22":23,"_24":25,"_26":27,"_30":31,"_36":37,"_38":39,"_40":41},"user","shoppingCartId","shoppingCart",{"_9":10,"_11":12,"_13":14,"_15":16,"_17":18,"_19":20,"_21":14},"id","no-cart","count",0,"free",true,"updatedAt","","paymentGateway","STRIPE","cartItems",[],"loading","locale","en","readerTheme","light","constants",{"_28":29},"paypalClientId","AX53Cwz8jR6rVVzzZiZNWWXl0dGagi-GZrjG-S3Ua14E5nrKMn7DxDQ730O4R8LusLPp49ALn6aRVaEy","publishers",{"_32":33,"_34":35},"companies",[],"universities",[],"learnerOrganizations",[],"needsLocaleCookieSync",false,"announcements",{"_42":-5,"_43":-5},"announcement_store","announcement_authors","routes/_store+/_readers+/email_author.$slug/route",{"_46":47,"_71":-5},"book",{"_9":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58},"Z2lkOi8vbGVhbnB1Yi9TdG9yZTo6Qm9va1Byb2R1Y3QvNjAyNQ","title","The Care and Feeding of Geeks","state","unpublished","contactAuthorMethod","email","aboutText","

My geek DNA was apparent in 1957 when I became a ham radio operator.

This geekiness continues through the present day. It appears that there’s no cure.

I’ve embraced geekiness from all angles.

I immersed myself in geeky things throughout high school and college — ham radio club, chess team, aeronautics, engineering, and mathematics.

I worked as an electrical engineer, systems engineer, computer programmer, systems analyst, systems designer, systems architect, and webmaster.

I’ve worked both as an employee and a computer consultant.

I’ve created my own software products with great hopes of becoming a multi-millionaire.

During the dot com boom I turned down $120,000 for the domain name WildWildWeb.com. Silly me.

I’ve alternated between feast and famine.

In my more than five decades as an out-of-the-closet geek, I’ve made every mistake imaginable. And I’ve made mistakes that nobody can imagine.

I’ve managed other geeks as head of my own computer consulting firm.

I’ve done every possible job function, not always well, as owner of my own computer consulting business.

I’ve loved my profession. I’ve hated my profession. I’ve gone in to and out of love of computers. This stabilized as love of computers.

I’ve immersed my head in technical issues so much that I was oblivious to the people and things around me.

I’ve repeatedly surfaced to the real world and dived back down into the safety of my own mental churning — and back out to extroversion.

I’ve been a lousy communicator. I’ve been a master communicator.

I learned some things along the way.

I want to share what I’ve learned.

My hope is that The Care and Feeding of Geeks will help you avoid the pitfalls and grab the gold ring on the merry-go-round of life as a geek.

And I hope that this book will help you manage geeks with great mutual joy and productivity.

After all tech is fun.

May you experience great prosperity, the high morale of productivity, and the joy of creativity.

With appreciation,

Jim Kitzmiller

Senior Geek

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