In Remembrance
Jack Richard Voltz
August 1, 1958 - December 29, 2001
On December 29th, 2001, Jack Richard Voltz went to be with his Lord.
Jack died from the complications of Type II, adult onset diabetes.
He was just 43.
Jack will be remembered for his tireless efforts in the pro-life movement,
for his music, his writings, and for his readiness to assist the aspiring
programmer. He is sadly missed by family and friends.
The story behind the nickname.
Pirate Pete is my BBS (computer bulletin board) "handle."
Many people have asked me how I came to choose such a distinctive nickname.
Several years ago, when I was still relatively new to "buzzing"
(using computer bulletin boards), I joined a local board called The
Amiga Island (run by SysOp Dennis Hennen, a.k.a. "The Griffon").
In keeping with the nautical motif of the board, I chose "Pirate Pete"
for a handle. Because the Amiga Island was frequented by younger members
of the "computer generation," and to let everyone know up front
that I was a Christian and should be expected to behave as such, I used
to tack on "the Christian Privateer" (see JESUS
IS LORD!) to my signature line in all of my e-mail (I still do, for
all of the above reasons).
Now that I've breached the Internet, I don't do much "buzzing"
any more, but I've retained the handle and persona of crusty old "Pirate
Pete"--so don't be surprised if you hear a hearty "Ya-har!"
now and again.
My real name is Jack Richard Voltz. I'm currently (ack) 40 years old (as of
8/1/98). Generally speaking, I refuse to be categorized...but if you absolutely
must, here's some personal info.
I am:
A recent graduate (July, 2001) of the American College for Information and Computer Sciences. I obtained my Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science.
an ex-electrical engineering student (2 years at the
Ohio State University; withdrew due to health problems)
a computer programmer (see my programming page)
with 13 years of experience in
several dialects of BASIC, including Visual Basic 4.0 & 5.0,
GW-BASIC, Business BASIC, QuickBASIC
(versions 2.0 thru 4.5), and others
Visual C++ v1.52 & 5.0 (3 years)
COBOL (4 years, different platforms incl. NCR 8271, 9300; MSDOS; UNIX)
a smattering of F77 (FORTRAN 77, on a PRIME-750 platform)
Microsoft Macro Assembler (6+ years)
Visual FoxPro & dBASE (1+ years)
16- and 32-bit Windows programming (1+ yrs)
METAFILE (a 4GL DB language by Sensor-based Systems of Chicago)
a music enthusiast and budding composer (check out my music
page )
an author of several short stories and a children's book (take a gander
at my selected writings ).
an avid reader of science fiction (with an emphasis on science,
i.e., non-Trek stuff).
I'm also:
opinionated (and who isn't? :) Like most folks, I have opinions on
everything. See my Opinion of the Day)
a Catholic (who happens to believe that the Shroud
of Turin is the real deal.
a Democrat-turned-Republican (don't get me started!)
send me e-mail.
