While my title is Senior System Engineer, let me clarify by saying this is a software-related position. I am not a chemist - I have had only a small number of courses of chemistry and physics in my educational career as well as some reading of popular science-style books on the subjects. My primary background is in computers and my areas of expertise is in general purpose development tools, functions, etc. I spent a lot of time working on fixing problems that others encounter in various general programs. So there is not really any chemistry involved in my day to day duties.
My current work assignments include maintenance on a number of internally developed systems as well as providing Solaris support, helping plan IT infrastructure strategies, designing processes for production support of systems, learning about Linux and Windows XP, and doing research on internet technologies.
Personal interests include
learning about Macintosh G4, G3, Quadra 630, 6200, original, as well as various other older (and some day hopefully newer) Macintoshes,
Palm Pilots,
reading (especially science fiction, manga, and computer related topics),
cooking,
eating,
watching television
(especially science fiction and/or cooking shows -
when will someone EVER combine the two ... though it did come to my
attention this was, in a small part, done on Babylon 5 and
Star Trek Voyager - on the former, we saw the subject of food come
up in several episodes and on the latter, we often saw the ship's "cook"
dealing with food issues. I just keep hoping for a few more usable recipes!),
eating,
having fun with my kids,
listening to Christian music
(particularly on my Rio Sport Forge flash MP3 player),
and my church activities.
See FreeChristianMusic
for a blog covering legally free sources for Christian music (with some interviews and other things, as the mood strikes me).
If you are into digital music, and MP3 files, then you might check out this
commercial program
to help fix up your MP3 file ID tags!
which is a nice introduction to this area of the United States.
The kids and I like to read comics as well but we can't afford to do so often. I was reading the Babylon 5 comic by DC, before it was cancelled. I also have begun reading English translations of Japanese manga (or comics). For instance I have read "Mai, the Psychic Girl" and "Nausicaa", both published by Viz. We've also read some of "CardCaptor", "Sailor Moon", "Tenchi", "Ranma 1/2", "Naruto", "Azumanga Daioh", "Tsubasa", "His and Her Circumstances", "Fruits Basket", "Yotsabah", "Hikaru no Go", "Iron Wok Jan", "Nodame Cantible", and other series. We even have a few volumes of some of these. There are a few comic strips that we have enjoyed in the past. For instance, Calvin and Hobbes and Far Side were two of my former favorites. I also used to enjoy Alex's Restaurant. I currently enjoy Zits!, Dilbert, and frequently Foxtrot. I also have enjoyed Argon Zark! which is a WWW based comic.
The kids and I used to spend more time gathering a few sets of trading cards. I am looking for cards to finish out our Babylon 5 series 1, series 2, series 4, special edition, and other related sets. Other sets in which we formerly had interests were Power Rangers, animation related series such as Reboot, Marvel, WildC.A.T.S., anime (such as Sailor Moon, Robot Carnival, Dragonball, Pocket Monsters, etc.) and the Dinotopia series. Also, any series that we could pick up relatively inexpensively (such as in children's meals at fast food stores, inside food packaging, etc.) were likely to be of some interest. Alas, our source of low cost trading cards has essentially dried up. The kids now though are into the Pokémon collectible card game as well as other Pokémon merchandising. While initially all four kids had decks and played each other, the neighbors, and me, these days, only the two youngest and I have been playing. Another interest that my kids and I have is video games. Currently, we have a Super Nintendo, Super Game Boy adapter, a Game Boy, a Color GameBoy, Game Boy Advanced, Nintendo 64, and Nintendo GameCube. The favorite games of the kids are various Mario-based games on all platforms, Zelda games on all platforms, Pokémon on the Game Boys and N64, Tetris on the Color Game Boy, Chu Chu Rocket and Sonic on the Game Boy Advanced, Kirby on the various platforms, party-like games on the N64, and Pikmin on the GameCube. They've other games, but these are their favorites to play. Here's an interesting web page dealing with the legal status of freely available game emulators.
I was born on August 2, 1955. My mother is Lyda Duncan Virden and my father was Donald Elmer, Sr., son of Elmer and Orpha Evans Virden of Paden City, WV. My father passed away on Nov. 22, 2006. I grew up with my two siblings - Donald Elmer Virden, Jr. and Teresa (Kay) Rush - in Tyler County, near an area known as Buck Run. My siblings, along with their families, reside in the Wetzel County, West Virginia area of New Martinsville. I graduated from Tyler County High School (TCHS), Middlebourne, WV, in 1973. I got my B.A. in Computer Science from Mount Vernon Nazarene University (MVNU), (back when it was just a college) Mt. Vernon, OH in 1977. Since that time, I have taken a number of courses from vendors, conference tutorials, training classes at local colleges and by other local educational groups. I am not currently working towards another degree.
My family consists of Joyce Louise (Meadows) Virden, my wife, Benjamin Andrew (1985), Laura Jeanne (1987), Daniel Joseph (1989), and Jonathan David (1991), my children. As a family, some of our interests are our church (Reynoldsburg Church of the Nazarene) and learning about ADD/ADHD. Also, see television watching.
Other family members include my mother-in-law Mary Wollums Meadows, as well as my brother-in-law Tracy and his fantastic wife and kids. There are also my maternal grandmother, Irene Roush Duncan. My brother is married to Luann and my sister to Paul Rush. My sister has two very sweet daughters (Erica and Nicole).
What do I look like? Here's a recent photo...![[JPG image of Larry Virden not shown]](lvirden.jun282001.jpg)
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News report confirming my suspicions about Microsoft all along...
One historical researcher's findings regarding Murphy's Law
© Copyright by Larry W. Virden, 1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006
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