In 2003, I opened a computer consulting company in a vein attempt to support myself after being laid off from Hifn, Inc. as a semiconductor verification technician. It didn't work out too well, unfortunately. The economy was horrible at the time, and besides being a highly impacted market (everyone who was laid off essentially did the same thing), I simply lacked the capital for adequate advertising. Hence, the customers I received weren't enough to sustain the business beyond a single year.
In 2004, I started work at In-N-Out Burger, where I worked for about 6- to 8-months (I can't recall precisely now). It was very enjoyable overall, and despite eating a Double-Double literally every day that I worked, I actually lost weight while working there. The secret? Bicycling! I live about 8 miles away from the restaurant where I worked, and the bike ride was a solid 45-minute job each direction. It was an excellent way to maintain my health despite the fast-food. It also pretty much met the requirement for an Atkins-like diet, which I suppose is the reason why I ended up losing weight.
Unfortunately, working at In-N-Out, I wasn't able to meet basic living expenses. Thus, I jumped ship to my current position. I now hold a full-time position with the California Regional Internet (cari.net) company, doing things like answering telephones for tier-3 Linux Technical Support, managing the Network Operation Center, performing facilities monitoring, server provisioning, etc. Indeed, my highest title while there was NOC Manager. I worked at CariNet from 2004 to December, 2006.
Currently, I work for Workforce Logic, offering software development services to Google, Inc. I started January 2007. Hopefully, I'll be here for some time; I rather enjoy the place, the people, and in many respects, the things. I've many frustrations too, though, so please don't think Google, despite being listed as the place to work in 2007, Google has its fair share of problems too.
Currently, FTS is my personal webpage, but I have received quite a bit of interest in my Kestrel projects. As a result, I may consider offering kits (as in Heathkit-style kits, not pre-fabricated, pre-populated PCBs) for sale. You can find out more about the Kestrel and its related sub-projects on the appropriate page.