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Me
My name is Dale. I am a bit of an obsessive sort. I enjoy taking things apart and putting them back together and have a genuine 'need to know' how things work. I am a musician, songwriter, producer, tech-type and the kind of person others call when they need problems to go away.
Background
I grew up in Clear Lake Shores, Tx (about 30 minutes south of Houston) in a little island community. Now, when I say island I mean that it is technically surrounded by water but not a Gilligan type of scenario. I started playing guitar when I was seven and eventually started my own band by the time I was fourteen. After high school I travelled for several years with my band and released a couple of CDs on a local label but I eventually grew tired of the egos (mine own included) and I grew even more tired of being on the road and eating ramen noodles every night so of course I went into IT! I still write and record music and often serve in a producer capacity for local bands. While I never attended Julliard or Berkley, I have studied under and worked with some of the best guitarists in hard rock and heavy metal including Joel Gregoire, Shannon Hamm (of Death and Control Denied) and last but certainly not least Rusty Cooley.
I started in IT on the support desk and quickly moved to desktop support and within another year was into the server group but it was not until I got an opportunity to move into network engineering that I really started to feel fulfilled in my career. The challenges involved with network troubleshooting large LAN/WAN environments can be almost addictive. Of course once I started leading the teams and eventually directing the entire enterprise infrastructure and media services group that I really needed to find an outlet for my technical 'need to know' that has been with me all of my life. Luckily home theater was there to fill the void and while it is not identical to my pro-audio experiences, it was close enough that I could jump right in and start taking things apart. :T
Family
I have been at my current company for 12 years and still enjoy being part of the 'family'. It is the type of place where everyone is genuinely concerned about everyone else and where the company values actually mean something. Of course my success in my career came only after I met my one true best friend and the love of my life, my beautiful wife Tina. Together we have raised two beautiful children into fine young adults that I could not be more proud of. Tina and I are a team and the roles are simple. I build it and she makes it beautiful.
Hobbies and Interests
I get a kick out of bringing things back to life. I like to take things and tweak them until they are as perfect as can be but I never feel like anything is completely finished. I have fallen asleep many times at the mixing console while mixing and mastering music I have recorded because I just cannot walk away. I also enjoy cooking very much. I was recruited at the age of five for my dads barbecue team and have been hooked ever since. I do not participate in cook-offs anymore because it is too much work and not a lot of payoff, but I am usually grilling or smoking something on the pit every weekend so be sure to stop by if you are in the area!
HTS
I started reviewing Blu-ray movies at Home Theater Shack back in 2010 and was able to do my first equipment review by the end of that year. In 2011 things really started to take off and since then I have been able to get my hands on all types of gear and have my way with it. Now that The Sub Zone has gotten off the ground things are looking brighter than ever here at HTS!
My name is Dale. I am a bit of an obsessive sort. I enjoy taking things apart and putting them back together and have a genuine 'need to know' how things work. I am a musician, songwriter, producer, tech-type and the kind of person others call when they need problems to go away.
Background
I grew up in Clear Lake Shores, Tx (about 30 minutes south of Houston) in a little island community. Now, when I say island I mean that it is technically surrounded by water but not a Gilligan type of scenario. I started playing guitar when I was seven and eventually started my own band by the time I was fourteen. After high school I travelled for several years with my band and released a couple of CDs on a local label but I eventually grew tired of the egos (mine own included) and I grew even more tired of being on the road and eating ramen noodles every night so of course I went into IT! I still write and record music and often serve in a producer capacity for local bands. While I never attended Julliard or Berkley, I have studied under and worked with some of the best guitarists in hard rock and heavy metal including Joel Gregoire, Shannon Hamm (of Death and Control Denied) and last but certainly not least Rusty Cooley.
I started in IT on the support desk and quickly moved to desktop support and within another year was into the server group but it was not until I got an opportunity to move into network engineering that I really started to feel fulfilled in my career. The challenges involved with network troubleshooting large LAN/WAN environments can be almost addictive. Of course once I started leading the teams and eventually directing the entire enterprise infrastructure and media services group that I really needed to find an outlet for my technical 'need to know' that has been with me all of my life. Luckily home theater was there to fill the void and while it is not identical to my pro-audio experiences, it was close enough that I could jump right in and start taking things apart. :T
Family
I have been at my current company for 12 years and still enjoy being part of the 'family'. It is the type of place where everyone is genuinely concerned about everyone else and where the company values actually mean something. Of course my success in my career came only after I met my one true best friend and the love of my life, my beautiful wife Tina. Together we have raised two beautiful children into fine young adults that I could not be more proud of. Tina and I are a team and the roles are simple. I build it and she makes it beautiful.
Hobbies and Interests
I get a kick out of bringing things back to life. I like to take things and tweak them until they are as perfect as can be but I never feel like anything is completely finished. I have fallen asleep many times at the mixing console while mixing and mastering music I have recorded because I just cannot walk away. I also enjoy cooking very much. I was recruited at the age of five for my dads barbecue team and have been hooked ever since. I do not participate in cook-offs anymore because it is too much work and not a lot of payoff, but I am usually grilling or smoking something on the pit every weekend so be sure to stop by if you are in the area!
HTS
I started reviewing Blu-ray movies at Home Theater Shack back in 2010 and was able to do my first equipment review by the end of that year. In 2011 things really started to take off and since then I have been able to get my hands on all types of gear and have my way with it. Now that The Sub Zone has gotten off the ground things are looking brighter than ever here at HTS!
