About Darrel Ray Clute, III
Professionally
Both my employment and hobbies revolve around the information technology field. My primary focus up to this point in time has been primarily with network engineering and Open Source technologies. Network engineering is where my formal training derives from, specifically Cisco. I have held a number of industry certifications, predominately Cisco. Outside of my formal training I also have extensive experience working with various server technologies as well, including Microsoft Windows and various Unix based operating systems, Solaris, BSDs, Linux, etc.
From the time my professional life began prior to completing high school through today I've worked in a number of different vertical markets, but always in a technical position. Beyond the full time jobs which I've maintained throughout the years I have also at times worked as an independent contractor providing consulting services to various businesses. A number of colleagues and I have attempted to start our own consultancy and services company in the past. Even though the business did not take off all of us which were deeply involved with the fledgling company were able to learn many things. Among what I personally learned, management is at the top. This included management of professional relationships, client relationships, staff and resources. In the many endeavors I've undertaken in my professional life I've been able to gain much insight into many vertical markets, and have further expanded my skill set within as well as my understanding of the IT industry as a whole.
You can review my resume to discover more of my professional past. You can also keep track of my professional life over on my LinkedIn Profile. And occasionally I post via Twitter @darrelclute.
Personally
I married my beautiful wife, Rachel, on October 25, 2006. I've known my wife practically from the day she was born, there is a five year difference between us. We dated for approximately six months before we were wed. Neither of us can imagine our lives without the other.
On April 3, 2008 our family expanded to include our first born son, Ayden. He is growing so fast and is extremely smart. He is already showing much interest in electronics and especially computers. He loves being a big brother and tries to help out now that Levi is here. Neither Rachel nor myself can wait to see what the future holds for Ayden.
As of September 16, 2009 Ayden is now a big brother, and Rachel and I are parents of two boys. Levi was born at home, footling breach, and delivered by myself. His entrance into the world was extremely fast. You can read about his arrival here. Levi was tested for and confirmed to have Down's Syndrome. Rachel and I are looking forward to helping Levi as he grows and are looking forward to seeing who Levi will be.
As previously stated, my hobbies primarily revolve around computers. I enjoy running servers and networks as a past time in addition to making a living doing such. Those of you with your past time as your primary occupation can truly appreciate how enjoyable such can be. For those that aren't in this situation it tends to be difficult for them to see a separation of work and personal time and they can even get frustrated with those of us that are able to enjoy this arrangement.
In addition to my primary hobbies I do enjoy spending time with my family and friends. I enjoy good quality television programs and movies, predominately science fiction. I also enjoy watching the ocassional sports game, or even playing.