About J

This page is probably as close as I'll ever get to writing an autobiography. Of course, even this is an expression of vanity that my life thus far doesn't justify. So, if naked narcissism scares you, disgusts you or otherwise offends you, either suck it up and humor me or leave. I'm doing it as much as a way to explore my memories and get perspective as anything else, just doing so in a public space.

I'm J Wynia. I'm a web consultant, writer and geek who thrives on helping people solve problems using technology. I work directly with business owners and individuals to do the geeky heavy lifting and let them get on with business and what they do well. I also write about technology and share the information that helps individuals with a little geek in them solve their own problems.

Author blurb (use this if you need a one sentence bio in an article, etc):
J Wynia is a web consultant, general geek and writer who lives in Minneapolis, MN with his wife and 2 basset hounds.

I spend most of my days working on web applications and sites, with the occasional desktop and handheld app thrown in for good measure. I work with a pretty wide variety of technologies: PHP, HTML/CSS/Javascript, XML/XSLT, JSP, C#, Java etc. I make it a policy not to talk about my current contracts in any way other than in a general sense, so you won't find discussion of much of my "workday" activities here.

This site is my personal space where I work on improving my writing, discuss thoughts and ideas and otherwise vent the inside of my head and my leisure activities to the world at large. I take a fairly pragmatic approach to the world and enjoy solving problems and building systems. Lots of the geeky stuff on this site is the equivalent of crossword puzzles to me. They are an intellectual exercise that make me happy for a few hours at a time. And, as with crossword puzzles, when I'm bored with one of them, I may drop the project and never finish it: something I would never do with a client or in my professional activities.

I generally take notes throughout the day and transfer them to the computer after work, write up blog posts in the morning or evening and schedule most of them to appear near the same time in the morning. However, life's little ups and downs can result in stretches where none of my thoughts end up here. C'est la vie.

Personality-wise, I'm an INTP and feel that the profile of that type fits me fairly well. I like talking with people, but mostly in fairly small groups. I can usually make myself OK with larger groups only by being a presenter or somehow in charge of it and thus able to separate myself from the large group somehow. When I'm not able to do that, I find being with more than a few people an exhausting experience.

While the term "renaissance man" is pretentious, it's the only term that I can think of that describes my attempt to know and learn a little bit about everything I can.

Interests

I have a strong interest in home theater, but not in an audiophile/videophile kind of way. I don't see the point in spending $25,000 on a home theater that's marginally better than the $2500 theater. For me, the movies are the focus and a "good enough" setup to enjoy them is all I want.

I enjoy music and carry around a 30GB MP3 player, but don't spend a lot of time reading reviews, seeking out new music or otherwise being passionate about it. I know what I like and I listen to it. I can play both the guitar and the piano, though I haven't done much of either in the last 5-10 years.

I turned 32 in October of 2007, when I also reached a reasonable weight goal and entered my 30's in better shape than I spent most of my 20's. That milestone is also what has prompted my interest in self-improvement, lifehacks, Getting Things Done and otherwise doing way too much navel gazing. As a person, I feel that I'm hitting my stride and accomplishing things as the person I developed into during the earlier phases of my life. I hope to lengthen those strides and continue to improve as a person through the next decade.