About Me . . .

In my “spare time”, I work as a Senior Consultant - Converged Solutions for the Corporate Systems Engineering group of Avaya Inc. Basically, I live in airports and occasionally get to sit in the plane on the way to and from customer visits...at least that’s the way it’s seemed lately with the state of air travel. I do love my job, but getting home to work in the shop, work on home improvement projects and play on my Kubota tractor (arrh...arrh...arrh!) for hours really helps me relax. That all is secondary, of course, to being home with my lovely and talented wife, Alison and the birdies, our feathered kids.

Anyone who works in a fast moving technical sales job can understand the need for personal activities that are remarkably different from our occupations. Since late 1998, serious woodworking has fulfilled part of that need for me. But I am also thankful that my stressful, but rewarding “real job” provided me with the resources necessary to build my shop fairly quickly...it is expensive to get started with a fully-equipped shop...I’m always proud to wear that tee-shirt that says, “He who dies with the most tools wins!” In fact, I often sleep in it...

I also thank my “significant other human” for the support and encouragement that she’s given since I got this itch...I'm sure she’ll enjoy all the furniture I’m making; even the pieces that are less than perfect....which is every one of them! But that’s also one of the reasons I married her in November 2001.

Thanks also to Norm Abram of the New Yankee Workshop for years of PBS inspiration and the folks who participate in the Wood Magazine online discussion forums for their solid and prolific advice...I hope my own contributions will help some other person to enjoy this creative and rewarding hobby, craft and for some, new profession. I have also been participating as the Forum Host in the WOOD ONLINE Tools and Tool Buying Discussion Group--a sometimes difficult, but always rewarding endeavor.

Regards and work safely,
Jim Becker

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