Ken Harthun's Page

First, let me say that I'm very pleased to be a part of this and look forward to forming more permanent friendships. I have quite a few people I consider friends whom I've never met face to face, though I do make it a point to try to meet up with them at some point. Maybe, someday, I'll sponsor a summit of some sort where we all get to meet. Wouldn't that be fun?

The Short Version

I realize your time is valuable, so I'm providing this short version of who I am. This way, you can get a quick idea of what I'm about without having to wade through a bunch details that may not be important to you. I'm actually 'way more interested in who you are, but feel free to read on if you find my story interesting and want to get to know me a little better. Here are the basics:

--Born August 8, 1953 (Leo) in Covington, KY. Grew up in Alexandria, KY. The general area is Greater Cincinnati, Ohio, also known as the Tri-State, OH-KY-IN.
--USAF Veteran, Vietnam era (I did not go there).
--I've been married to my lovely wife, Peggy (Virgo), for 30 years.
--We have three children, Penny, Steve and Amie.
--We have seven grandchildren, 6 boys and 1 girl.
--And one very mischievous miniature Yorkie.
--Hobbies and interests include cooking, grilling, Ham radio (KC4IWT), music (award-winning singer/songwriter--I play guitar and piano), writing (since 1977), collecting antique radios, all things computer, electronics, reading good novels (John Grisham, Dan Brown, Lee Child), and flying small planes. There's much more that I'm interested in, but you have to tell me your interests first! We can probably find some common ground.

The Long Version

Brace yourself! You're about to meet a really Geeky guy. But first, I need to define "Geek." Some think it's a derogatory term; nothing could be further from the truth. It's an honor to be a Geek. Here's why: "GEEK - (1) The name given to scientifically savvy folk; (2) A person who is interested in learning and becomes deeply involved in their interests." That's me all the way, both definitions. And if either of those fits you, then you're a Geek, too. Wear it proud!

I was always a curious kid, getting into things my parents said I shouldn't get into. The first big Geek adventure I recall is when, in 1959, I took apart my wrist watch.

I wanted to see "what made it tick." Unfortunately, I lacked both the skills and the tools to do it right and the watch was ruined. To this day, I still love to tinker with things and still have the occasional disaster!

(I won't mention the 1960 incident--burning down the cornfield and nearly catching the garage on fire in the process. The firemen were not amused.)

Fast forward to Christmas, 1963. My dad (a true Geek himself) and mom got me a real binary computer, the DigiComp I.

Yes, it really worked and at the ripe young age of 10, I learned how to do binary math calculations. No surprise that today, I'm still a certified computer Geek!

In those days, no self-respecting Geek dad would ever allow his son to be without a chemistry set. My dad was a chemist himself, so I was going to have one, despite my mother's protests. Here's a picture of it:

I set up a full-blown chemistry lab on an old table in the basement. Natually, I managed to talk my dad into bringing home some rather "active" chemicals from the lab where he worked; you know, the ones that that you can make rockets and other fiery things out of? This is my mother's version of what happened next:

The truth is it wasn't really that bad; I burned a big hole in the table and the house filled up with stinky sulfur smoke. Heck, the fire department didn't even show up for that one!

The next Christmas, I got what my folks thought might be a safer Geek instrument--a microscope.

What they didn't consider is that the first thing a curious Geek kid looks at is hair; the second thing is blood. I got them both from my sister. Hair is easy to get; blood's a little tougher--it involves needles in fingers. Mom and Dad were not happy about that. Come to think of it, neither was my sister.

I guess it's no accident that the next year, I got a guitar for Christmas. I taught myself how to play it and shortly thereafter began writing my own songs which I'm still doing after 40 years.

I play Folk, Rock, Jazz, Country and Classical guitar and I also taught myself how to play some piano. One of my songs won an award.

In the 1990's I had several of my songs recorded on albums made by aspiring Nashville artists.

Besides songwriting, I'm also a professional writer, editor and consultant to novelists. I write a technical column, "Security Corner," for IT Knowledge Exchange, a prominent technical website. I am a contributing expert to SearchSecurity.com. I also have two blogs of my own, Ask the Geek and The Singing Songwriter, and am nearing completion on "14 Golden Rules of Computer Security."

I'm a Ham radio operator, KC4IWT, licensed for 20 years.

I collect antique radios, like this homemade crystal radio from the early 1900's.

I build crystal radios, too. If you don't know what a crystal radio is, it's a set that will pick up real radio (AM) stations using only the radio signal itself--no batteries needed.

You know, even after all that, I've barely scratched the surface. I'm one of those people who have been around the block more than once. I'm interested in just about everything and chances are that you and I can find something of mutual interest. I love helping people, too, so if you ever need help or advice, feel free to ask. (That's why you should care about who I am.)

I don't have a formal college degree, but I think the one I have pretty much sums it all up.

I look forward to meeting you.

Cheers!
Ken "The Geek" Harthun