David Steinlage (stÿn-log-E) started providing tech support to the Topeka area in the middle of 2003. Before that time he had already gained a lot of first hand experience with computer repair by building his own PCs and troubleshooting problems his friends had with their PCs. But David's exposure to computers goes back much further than that.

In 1987 when he was five years old, his mother became a medical transcriptionist and bought a computer so she could work at home and be with her children. David was extremely curious about this new machine and originally underestimated its capabilities. Within a year he had mastered the understanding of many DOS commands and was using the same computer (an Acer 8088) to make spreadsheets, word documents, graphs, birthday cards and signs that he would print with a dot matrix printer.

Dave saved up enough money for his own PC at the age of 15 and was much more diligent about teaching himself as much as he could know about it; treating the operating system and the hardware like a box of Legos to be toyed with. While this method of trial and error cost him a lot of downtime on his own machine, it also taught him a lot of new things about the way computers work and he never desired to purchase another for years to come. With the knowledge he gained through experimentation and reading books from the public library he was able to find ways to optimize his first computer so it could keep in step with most of the newer systems that were just hitting the shelves.

Since then Dave has built several computers, and has fixed a laundry list of computer problems. "Most of the problems I see are common. It is the rare problems that I've never encountered before that offer me a real challenge, and they encourage me to learn even more."

technical training

Click the images to see a high resolution scan

David is a graduate of Kaw Area Technical School located in Topeka, Kansas. He holds a two-year degree in computer repair and networking.

David also holds six Cisco certificates of training completion after completing a two year computer repair and networking program provided by Cisco Systems.  Two certificates are in the field of computer repair (Comp TIA A+ Training), and four are in the field of computer networking (CCNA Equivalent). The courses are held at Kaw Area Technical School in Topeka.  Although they have no authoritative value, they do outline David's computer networking, repair skills and competency in extensive detail. His second year transcript is also included below:

Click any image below to see a high resolution scan

other related experiences

In addition to his computer expertise and ambition to be a sharp technician, David also holds a realm of unique job experiences, such as

• Fiber optic and copper line installer (contracted) for the US Marine Corps in Iraq.
• Data Center technician for the countries second largest transcontinental freight railroad.
• Staff safety trainer and department lead for a large factory.
• Webmaster and member of the production department for two major television stations.
• Customer service representative for a big-box electronics retailer.