Scott Gardner of Venice, Florida

 

 

My name is Scott Gardner, and this is my personal website.

Why did I build it?

  • Because I could.

Why is it here?

  • Because after retirement, I needed something to keep me busy.

Why does it contain all sorts of things that probably do not belong together?

  • Because it is my website, and I can do whatever I want.

So look around, click some buttons, and explore the site. You probably will not break anything.

Well…

You probably will not break anything.

A Little About Me

I am one of the millions of people who call South Florida home, and I absolutely love it.

It is warm most of the time, the sun shines, palm trees are everywhere, and — most importantly —

❄️ THERE IS NO SNOW! ❄️

Many people move to South Florida after they retire. I retired too. But I have no plans to move. I am already where I am supposed to be.

Aviation

I have been fascinated by airplanes since I was in my early teens. Aviation has been a major part of my life, and over the years I have worked as an aviation mechanic, commercial pilot, and consultant.

I have flown turbines.

  • They are especially nice to start on cold mornings.

I flew gliders.

  • When I was fifteen. I can still hear the rifle-shot sound of the tow rope releasing.

I have flown J-3 Cubs.

  • On a summer day, there is nothing better than flying with the side panels open.

I have also flown a few other machines that seemed perfectly reasonable to strap myself into at the time.

Some were considerably more sophisticated than a J-3. Others probably should not have been allowed to leave the ground in the first place.

Fortunately, I survived it all.

I no longer fly regularly, but I have not completely escaped aviation. I still occasionally help a friend work on an aircraft, and if somebody happens to offer me a ride, I am probably going.

Some things never change.

Computers and Data Processing

My other career was in data processing.

Why data processing? Because it is fun, interesting, and my degree is in the field. Most importantly, it paid a lot better.

Aviation was my passion, but computers were my career. As much as I loved aviation, computers had one major advantage: They paid a whole bunch more.

I started as a lowly coder and eventually worked my way into management. By the end, I had reached what I like to call the position of Chief Bean.

I enjoyed it. I enjoyed aviation too.

My Philosophy

I have always believed that life should be enjoyed.

  •        Work hard.
  •        Learn something.
  •        Build something.
  •        Fly something.
  •        Take things apart.
  •        Put them back together.
  •        Occasionally discover that you have two parts left over.
  •        And, above all, do not take yourself too seriously.

Retirement and This Website

For most of my life, I had a tendency to do things at about 110 percent. I would work until I had to eat, then eat until I had to work again. Occasionally, I remembered that sleep was probably important too.

Eventually, I stopped flying regularly. Then I retired. That is when things became dangerous.

I needed something to keep me occupied—something productive, challenging, and interesting. Preferably something that would not require me to spend a small fortune on aviation fuel.

Someone suggested web development. Perfect.

I have a degree in Computer Science. I have been developing websites for years, and I have built websites for myself, companies, and organizations.

So I thought: Why not build one for myself?

That is what you are looking at.

This website is basically a reflection of me. It is part aviation, part computers, part curiosity, part nostalgia, and probably a little bit of poor judgment.

What to Expect

I do not intend for everything here to be serious. There are plenty of serious websites on the Internet. This is not necessarily going to be one of them.

If you find something useful, great. If you find something interesting, even better. If you find something completely pointless, that was probably intentional.

This website was created without the assistance of:

  • A marketing department
  • A public-relations consultant
  • A focus group
  • A corporate-branding specialist
  • A lawyer telling me what I should not say

Consequently, there may occasionally be opinions expressed here. They are mine. You are welcome to disagree with them. I will not lose any sleep over it.

There may also be some useless stuff. If I am doing this correctly, there should be a fair amount of humor too.

After all…

If it is not at least a little rude, crude, and socially unacceptable, what is the fun?

Look Around

Take a look around. Click something. You probably cannot break it.

Well…

You probably can.

If you find something entertaining, then the whole exercise will have been worth it.

Welcome aboard. Come back sometime. I will probably have changed something, added something, broken something, or fixed something. Possibly all four.

And remember:

        If It Is Not a Little Rude, Crude, and Socially Unacceptable…

WHAT’S THE FUN?

Footnotes:

This Website Is Perpetually Under Construction

Remember when every website on the Internet had one of these? Well, mine does too. The difference is that I am being honest about it.

There will always be something to change, improve, add, remove, break, fix, or completely redesign. That is half the fun.

Please Sign My Guestbook!

You remember guestbooks, don’t you? No? Do not worry. Neither does anyone else.

[ Sign My Guestbook ]

Coming soon… probably.

You Are Visitor Number
000000001

Yes, I reset the counter. Nobody will ever know.

System Info

You Are Connected To
Scott’s Little Corner of the Internet
South Florida, USA
Population: Way too many people.
Snow: 0 inches.

This Page Was Last Updated
Whenever I felt like it.

Best Viewed At
1024 × 768

Recommended Browser
Whatever you have.

Internet Explorer compatibility:      Probably.
Netscape Navigator compatibility:     If you can find a copy, I will make it work.

Weather Conditions

Current South Florida Snow Depth
0.000000 inches

Life is good.