Meet Your Moderator

[lcaillo]

I often read forums and wonder what the background of the moderator might be. It occurred to me while wondering this on another forum that some might wonder about me.

My name is Leonard Caillouet. I am a service technician in Gainesville, Florida. I was formerly the service manager for 7 years for Electronics World in Gainesville, a small retailer and custom installation business, dealing in mid to high end products. I service mostly television products now, but have extensive experience in audio, VCR, DVD, etc. I currently work part time for Electronics World and other dealers doing mostly field service and calibration work. I also provide service support to several other servicers in the region and accept work over the internet.

My education includes about 3 years of EE at LSU from 1977-1980. I took a job fixing TVs for a similar dealer in Baton Rouge at the time, Art Colley's Audio Specialties and Video Home Theater. I worked there form 1979 to 1992, where I got my introduction to home theater and custom installation. Art was one of the early pioneers in the HT business and I was lucky to be there at an exciting time when the business was transitioning from pure audio. I ran the service department and ended up fixing the stuff that the techs could not figure out, adding a great deal of practical and customer relations experience to my theoretical background. I was also one of the primary installers and designers of many of the early theaters that we built.

In 1992 I finished my degree in education, as I had always wanted to be a teacher and wanted to study human learning and the psychology of human performance. I have a in Kinesiology with a minor in math and certification in computer education. I taught high school math and computers (and several other things) for 8 years. I completed my MS in motor behavior in 1998, my thesis involved research into the effects of signal processing on the evaluation of EMG onsets and cessations. During the 1990s I was involved in the design and instgallation of two university Biomechanics labs, and provided tech support to them, as well as consulting on technical and programming issues for the researchers in those labs.

In 1999 we moved from Baton Rouge to Gainesville, and having burned out on teaching I got back into the electronics business. Since them I have been with Electronics World. I love my work. I also loved teaching, but as I describe it, it was the best thing I ever did and the worst job I ever had.

I am married, happily for 11 years, with one divorce in the past. I have a 24 year old son from my first marriage, of whom I am very proud and is more of a man than I ever was at that age. I have a stepson who is 20, and two sons ages 7 & 8. Two dogs, a beagle, a mix, and a bunch of tropical fish. We enjoy camping with freinds and through scouting. Both younger sons are in Cub Scouts and my wife and I are involved in leadership. We like going to the beach and many other activities available here in Florida.

Philosophically I am agnostic, raised and educated Catholic. Politically I am unaffiliated but rather conservative. I don't get on with either side on many issues, however, and tend to be more practical than ideological. Ethnically, I am 15/16 Cajun, just a cooney from down da bayou. LSU Tiger fan and converted Gator fan (how can you avoid that living in Gainesville?). Go SEC.

My hobbies include lots of sports, though the kids have kept me from pursuing them in recent years. I hope to get back into them as they are getting older. My love has always been Archery. I was involved in Olympic style competition for many years, until my shoulders made me back off. I was Biomechanics adviser and instructor for the NAA coaches for several years, and served on the USOC Sport Science and Technology Committee for several years.

My mission on the forums is to help people solve their problems with HT systems, learn what I can, and contribute in a positive way. My experience in repairs and working to solve problems with manufacturers is free to those who need it here, within the scope of the forum.