Welcome to Deborah’s Homepage

September 11, 2001

Personal Background

My hometown is Mansfield, Massachusetts. It was a small town of about 10,000 when I was growing up. I left Mansfield in 1969 when I married John Gardner and moved with him to Tonopah, Nevada. We still have some family in Massachusetts but we now consider Central New York home. We have lived in CNY since 1976.

In 1983 I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Columbia College. In 1987 the degree Master in Business Administration was conferred by Chapman College. That is the year I developed an interest in personal computers and I have been teaching people how to use personal computers since that time. In 1995 I decided to take the courses I needed for a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Systems. That degree was earned in September 1997. Because I believe that education should truly be ongoing, I have since taken two more computer courses and have earned a Bachelor of Arts in History.

I am taking a correspondence course in pursuit of becoming a Master Knitter through The Knitting Guild of America. In July 2006, I was notified that I had passed the first of three levels. In August 2010, I passed Level 2.

For 17 years, I was an adjunct professor at Columbia College’s Extended Studies Division on Hancock Field, the home of the 174th Fighter Wing (formerly the Boys from Syracuse). Also, I train individuals in their homes or at their workplaces on how to use computers. In addition to the training, I do database development using Access. I taught at a local business school for 11 years. For eight years, until 1984, I worked for the Miller Brewing Company in Fulton, NY.

My friend, Gene, and I sold collectibles on eBay from 2001 to June 2009. We called our business Cicero Collectibles. We sold political buttons, military memorabilia, Elvis items and any other items we thought people were i nterested in.

I was a member of the Central New York PC Users Group for ten years. This group of over 500 individuals holds meetings on the first Monday of each month. I was a contributing columnist for the group’s newsletter, Newsbytes. I also wrote book and software reviews, as well as a monthly Windows 95/98 Essential Tips column. Check out some of the my Windows tips.

Since 2001, I have been a member of the Cicero Democratic Committee. I video record most of the Town Board meetings so that the public can see our government in action. The meetings are always interesting regardless of the party in power.

Purpose of this Homepage

Why have a personal homepage? A lot of people ask that question. Each person who puts up a personal homepage on the Internet has his or her own reasons. My reasons are many.

• I wanted a place to put pictures so that my family and friends could easily see them and download any they wanted. I have family in Massachusetts, Georgia and Arizona.
• It’s fun—a lot of work but still fun.
• When someone asks me a “how-to” question or I figure out how to solve a problem using Word, Excel or Access, I can post it here. Then it is easy for me to find, as well as referring the next person who asks that question.
• I have had a lot of help with Access databases and want to pass on some of what I have learned to others.
• Potential clients can see examples of my work.
• I can display some of my knitting and beading on my knitting site, Deborah’s Knitting, and make available patterns I have written.

Areas of Interest

Access 
Excel    
Javascript    
        Credits for the Javascripts used on this site.
John’s Page
A Tribute to Elizabeth
Photo Album
Knitting  November 2010
Links of Interest
Windows Tips
        Windows 95/98 Tips
       Printing Folder Lists in Windows 98 or Windows XP     
Computer Articles
        Editing the Registry
        Spacing and Fonts in Word Processing
Just for fun—Take the Elvis Quiz