I have had a website in one fashion or another since 1994. The Station House as it was called was basically a personal page containing links to things I thought were interesting and a few of my opinions. I learned the basics of HTML with that site and handcoded everything in vi over SLIP and PPP telnet connections. I still handcode all my sites to this day. Eventually, I heard about "blogging" and registered an account with Blogger. Soon after starting at Dark Minds, I discovered that my ISP had absconded with my personal space, and that The Station House was lost to history.

In 2001, I registered the domain seadoc.net and moved over to Moveabletype from Blogger. I felt I needed a domain of my own where I could build the place I wanted, a way for me to share my experiences offshore with the world at large. A place where I could add photos, forums, and run a more comprehensive software package for my Blog. I also have a nasty "tinker" streak and I wanted someplace where I could experiment and play. So on March 9, 2001, Far From Perfect was started as Seadoc.Net. It was a place for me to express what was happening in my life and some of the interesting things I have seen. I had three styles to choose from and had my first forays into XHTML and CSS. I soon added a gallery with pictures of the things I had seen offshore, in my work as a Paramedic, and life in general. I began with Gallery, but eventually moved to Coppermine as a way to maintain better control over my photos. Currently the entirety of this site, and its subsidiaries run on ExpressionEngine, including the photo gallery.

A year and a half after starting Seadoc.Net I received a phone call from my then employer attemtping to censor my site. So after being censored and removing all the offshore pictures, I decided it was time for a change in focus. I thought hard and soon "Far From Perfect" was born. Far From Perfect, or FFP, has a more general life focus, although my experiences are still a big part of what goes on here. The name comes from the fact that no one is perfect, except for God, and I am definitely far from perfect. We all make mistakes, but we must stand back up and move forward as best we can. I believe wholeheartedly in Free Speech and the individual's right to choose their way in this world. Everything we do, both good and bad is a learning experience, and if we take nothing away from our daily interactions, then we go away less of a person.

I don't guarantee that you will agree with everything I say, nor do I expect you to. In fact, I would hope to spark some civil and heated debates. Only through communication can people come to understand each other. All I ask is that things be kept civil and that personal attacks stay out of the conversation. That being said, it has been my policy that comments will never be deleted and users banned for not agreeing with my views. The only comments and users that will be removed are those that are deemed to be spamming or trolling. They rarely offer anything constructive, and are just advertising themselves or their products.

I am a 68W, Combat Medic, in my thirties. I have been married to a wonderful woman since June 2001. We hail from a small town outside of Huntsville, Alabama. We also have a beautiful little girl. I moved to Huntsville from North Tennessee when I was ten. I was born in Southern California and lived there until I was four. After graduating high school, I entered into the US Army. I spent 9 years in the US Army Special Forces before becoming a Paramedic. I had originally planned to become a physical therapist, then an MD. After completing a pre-med curriculum and running out of things to take I took EMT-Basic. I enjoyed the job and continued my education until I became a Paramedic. With the change in the national curriculum, I eventually received a college degree in EMS. I worked as a Paramedic in many different areas for about ten years, until I decided to re-enlist in the Army as a Combat Medic.

I have been involved in EMS and Rescue since 1995. I became a Paramedic in 1995, and went to work full-time for the local ambulance service. I loved working the streets, and still do, but over time I discovered I could not make ends meet with the piddling amount Paramedics make ( One half to One third what nurses do). I had a friend that worked offshore, and he gave me an application. The job sounded interesting, so in 1998, I took a job working as an offshore medical provider. The job closely resembles being a Physician's Assistant. We handle Emergencies, Illnesses, Occupational Health, Safety, and a wide range of other functions. We provide sutures, antibiotic therapy, and a lot of other advanced skills on a protocol basis. We have more oversight than PA's do, but we provide the same services to our medical control physician's onshore. After my daughter was born, I returned to the field after 8 years in offshore medicine.

My first enlistment was spent in Special Forces as Military Intelligence. I resigned after 9 years and achieving the rank of Staff Sergeant. I was burned out and not seeing too far into the future at the time. After September 11, 2001 the urge to explore re-enlisting grew. The reasons I ended up re-enlisting are too numerous to recount here, but in July of 2005, my re-enlistment was complete and I had been reduced in grade 3 levels (a mistake I later found out and corrected to a degree). I went off to WTC, then to 68W training. Since being stationed at my unit I have returned to the rank of Sergeant. The Army has changed a whole lot in my absence and I am still acclimating to the new, more politically correct Army, but all in all its not been bad.

Currently, I am stationed as a line Medic in the 1st Cavalry. We will see how I like Armor and the Conventional Army after spending so long in Special Operations. I just returned from more than a year in Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom.