1) What do you do for a living (company you work for, official title, daily responsibilities, etc.)As a Systems Administrator & Programmer at the University of Scranton, I’m involved in a wide variety of technologies including out authentication and management systems, e-mail and collaboration platforms, and (of course) multiple WordPress installations for various blogs and sites.
2) How did you get into WordPress?
I used to have the notion that, as an IT professional, I should be coding my own sites. What usually ended up happening is that I never did much with my personal sites, because I didn’t have time to put into them. After playing with WordPress off and on with test sites, I finally made the jump to WordPress on my personal site (philerb.com) with WordPress 2.9 (December 2009). The more I dabbled, the more I realized the potential, especially with Custom Post Types in 3.0 and beyond.
3) What’s a great experience you had at a WordCamp?
My first WordCamp was Philly 2012. I’d only had limited interactions with the wider WordPress community up to that point (a couple of podcasts, browsing the forums, a little chat on Twitter), so this was a huge eye opener for me. I knew the software was great, but experiencing all those folks willing to share their experiences and knowledge – not only in sessions, but in hallway conversations, over lunch, exchanging e-mails – it’s incredibly exciting!
4) What are your non-WordPress, non-Computer related hobbies?
Living in a beautiful part of northeast PA, I try to get outside as much as possible to go hiking, camping, and playing in the yard with the kids. My other hobby is introducing my kids to all of the geeky greats – of course they’re ready for Star Wars Episode VII.
5) If you could be any fictional character, who would you be and why?
Scotty, from Star Trek – because I always multiply my estimates by a factor of four. How else could I be considered a miracle worker?