A package arrived this weekend though I wasn’t necessarily expecting one. The box was dropped off and the package left at the door. I grabbed the box and it was quite heavy. After a few seconds of holding it and seeing that my name was on the label, I realized what it was.

I immediately brought the box in and quickly opened it. As expected, it was a box of 20 copies of my new book Expert Shell Scripting. It is a recipe type of book focusing on useful and unique shell scripting tips and techniques.

This is my first book and I’ve learned a lot about the writing process and I’m very excited about it actually coming out. It has been a long road of multiple years and I’ve resisted getting too excited until I actually see the physical book. As they say, the product isn’t sold until the money is in your hand. I’ve got my copy and it is real.

Hello World!

I’ve never really liked the term ‘blog’, it reminds me of the term ‘bling’. Both terms have that pop culture, more image than substance feel sort of like a Honda Accord with gull-wing doors or an Escalade with spinner wheels and a plasma screen in back.  In any case, here I am with my own blog putting together a journal of topics that the majority of the world couldn’t care less about.  Maybe I’m just an old curmudgeon who is finally letting time pass him by.

There are a few categories that I’ll likely be discussing consistently and maybe a few that just stand on their own. I’ve been working on some writing projects in the last few years and am continuing on this path for now. I’m learning a lot about this process. I have a number of other ideas that I’d like to try. I also have two sons that are becoming young men (sort of very young) and am trying to help them become good men and I have a few ideas here too. Probably the most entertaining topic will likely be my automotive passion. In the last month, my car (1970 Dodge Challenger) has come home from being painted and now the big process of restoration and putting it back together begins. My interest in cars is very diverse and this could go anywhere.

The current and most exciting news is that I’ve been working for a number of years on a shell scripting book that has been picked up by Apress and will be available at the beginning of the year. This has been a long time coming and really my first entry into being an author.  Even after I had the content all put together, I never really thought of myself as an author. In my mind, an author was someone who wrote literature and I just put together a programming book. I guess now that my book has been published, I will likely relent in that sentiment.