Søren Lund

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Søren Lund, and I also go by the aliases slu and Dark Twonky. I'm an easy-going guy from Denmark, and this is my website where you can read about me.

An Electronics Hobbyist and Computer Nerd

I've been dabbling with electronics and computers for many, many years.

⚡ First, I picked up electronics as a hobby. This was in the late seventies, and I was a pre-teen. I started in high school in the early eighties. And that's when and where my interest in computers began. There was a computer classroom at the school, and I would go there every day after school to play games and write programs. The same year I started high school, I got a Commodore 64 for Christmas.

🎓 When I started at University in the late eighties, my original plan was to study electronics. But, I quickly realized that programming, numerical analysis, and computer graphics were much more up my alley. Ever since I graduated, I've worked professionally with software development.

But, I never lost interest in electronics. And with the emergence of cheap single-board microcontrollers, like the Arduino, I began tinkering with electronics again.

Open-source Software and Operating Systems

Not only am I a computer nerd at home, but I also work with computers professionally, especially as a software developer. This all leads to a very particulate setup when I use a computer. For software development, I prefer working from the command line and using tools that can be controlled using the keyboard. I am a fan of open-source software and will favor that over non-open-source software.

The first Operating System I used was CP/M. Then I got my C64, which came with the KERNAL, a ROM-based OS. Like many others, I upgraded to an Amiga 500 from the C64. And later I bought an Amiga 3000. They, of course, ran AmigaOS.

While studying for my Master of Science degree, I worked with several Operating Systems. There were several "data bars" on campus. A "data bar" was a room filled with terminals or computers where you could work on your assignments. I think the terminals connected you to an IBM System/370 mainframe. The computers were usually PCs with MS-DOS, but I also worked on different UNIX systems.

After graduation, I got a job working with HP-UX and Windows NT. At home, I got a Windows 95/98 PC. I wasn't happy with Windows. So, I started installing Linux on my computers, and Linux is what I still prefer using.

But Wait, There's More

By now, you should know that computers are a big part of my life. However, I do have other interests. They align with the general conception of what nerds enjoy, i.e., I'm not into sports and love fantasy, sci-fi, and board games. In no particular order, here are some of my favorite activities besides playing with computers: beer tasting, listening to music, cooking, reading books, traveling, and watching movies and television shows.

🍺 My taste in beer is broad, though I often prefer darker and more potent types. Stouts, Imperial IPAs, and Belgian Strong Ales are among my favorite types of beer. My absolute favorite type is the Lambic. Lambics are spontaneously fermented and have strong notes of sourness and a high degree of complexity. Yes, it's an acquired taste, that I appreciate.

📻 I've been actively listening to music since I was a kid. Back then, in the seventies, it was on the radio or on cassette tape. My first cassette tape player was portable with a built-in speaker. Later I got a real stereo setup with a receiver and record player. That's when I really began honing my taste in music. Some of the first music I bought was Jean-Michel Jarre and Kraftwerk. With my interest in electronics, it was obvious for me to also listen to electronic music.

I constantly discover new music I like. I like hip-hop a lot, but some good old-fashioned guitar rock is also great. Occasionally, I also enjoy listening to more experimental or alternative music.

📚 Many books I read are non-fiction and work-related. When I read fiction, my favorite genres are horror, fantasy, and mystery books.

🎬 I watch many movies and TV shows (the exception being reality and game shows.) I equally enjoy silly comedies and historical dramas. However, fantasy and sci-fi are my favorite genres.

We Are Family

Work

I work as a computer consultant. It's mostly software development and system administration related. I'm an AWS Solution Architect, Fullstack Developer, DevOps Engineer, Computer Generalist, Linux User, Perl Monger, Emacs Evangelist, and Java Developer.