About the guy behind the Firefall

Picture it. Summer of 1993. Los Medanos College. A warm afternoon, fluorescent lights buzzing overhead, and a room full of beige computers lined up in a typing lab that smelled faintly of dust and plastic. Windows 3.1 is on the rise, slowly working its way into homes and schools, convincing everyone this whole “personal computer” thing might actually stick.

And right in the middle of that quiet, structured environment… a young Tommy is not exactly following the lesson plan in his mom’s typing class.

Now, did I crash a computer or two? Allegedly.
Was I supposed to be learning proper hand placement and discipline? Definitely.
Was that what I was focused on? Not even close.

It wasn’t about causing trouble. It never really is, no matter what teachers think. My brain just didn’t work that way. Sitting still and doing things by the book felt like a suggestion, not a rule. If something was in front of me, I wanted to understand it. Not just use it. Not just follow instructions. I needed to know what made it tick, what would happen if I pushed it a little further than intended… and occasionally, what would happen if it broke.

Curiosity and I have a bit of a reputation problem, but honestly, it’s been running the show from day one.

Long before computers, there was the kitchen phone. Age four. Completely dismantled in the name of “learning.” It did not recover. That moment probably should’ve been a warning sign, but instead it became a pattern.

Growing up around auto repair shops didn’t exactly steer me toward calm, careful observation either. When you’re surrounded by people who can take apart engines, diagnose problems by sound alone, and put everything back together better than before, you absorb that mindset whether you mean to or not. Add in a family line full of seriously skilled technicians, and suddenly taking things apart isn’t reckless, it’s just how you figure things out.

Then computers entered the picture, and everything clicked.

Here was a machine that didn’t just move or make noise. It responded. It processed. It behaved differently depending on what you did with it. And unlike the phone, it didn’t always stay broken when you pushed it too far. Sometimes it taught you something instead.

That was it. No going back.

Over the last 35 years, that early curiosity turned into something a little more focused. What started with tinkering on a Tandy 1000HX grew into a full-blown, lifelong obsession with technology and modern computing. Not the surface-level kind, either. The kind that comes from years of hands-on experience, trial and error, formal study, and earning industry-recognized certifications along the way.

I’ve worked across the entire spectrum. Basic PC issues, deep network configurations, cybersecurity challenges, and yes… printers. Those unpredictable, temperamental machines that seem to fail at the exact worst possible moment.

You’ve seen the memes about toner explosions. Unfortunately, those aren’t exaggerated. I’ve been there. I’ve cleaned it up. I still find toner in my tools.

At this point, it doesn’t really matter what’s on the table. A single home setup, a growing small business, or a multi-location office environment, I’ve seen enough variations of “everything is broken” to stay calm and work the problem. That’s really what it comes down to. Not just fixing things, but understanding them well enough that the fix actually lasts.

In the past several years, I started bringing that experience directly to people. Helping friends, helping local businesses, stepping in when things stopped working and needed more than a quick reboot and a hopeful sigh.

Somewhere along the way, I picked up Linus Tovald’s Just for Fun, and it hit a little too close to home. That idea of building something from the ground up. Doing the work your way. Turning a lifelong passion into something real, something sustainable.

The idea had always been there. It just needed a push.

So in 2020 during the pandemic, I gave it one.

With a lot of networking - no pun intended -,  a lot of long nights, and more than a few moments of wondering if I’d completely lost my mind, I decided it was time to stop thinking about it and actually do it. I’ve grown my little business into a Managed Service Provider for small businesses across the Mother Lode. I’ve become the IT Department for pharmacies, doctor’s offices, an RV park, a non-profit chamber of commerce, and the first call for many small businesses experiencing IT related hiccups.

To build something of my own.
To do it right.
To make it last.

And now, here we are.

I’ve grown my little business into a Managed Service Provider for small businesses across the Mother Lode. I’ve become the IT Department for pharmacies, doctor’s offices, automotive repair shops, an RV park, a non-profit chamber of commerce, and the first call for many small businesses experiencing IT related hiccups. It all comes down to this on every service call - what can I do to help you succeed?

Oh. For those wondering, yes. I did in fact learn to type quickly and efficiently in that summer school class between 3rd and 4th grade. Even got an ‘A!’