Rick Swenton

Bristol, CT

I am married to to Gail (Planchard) for 33 years and have two wonderful adult daughters, Cathy and Rachel. Cathy graduated from Northeastern University in Boston in 2005. She is living in Seattle and working as a Software Developer for Microsoft. In September 2009 Cathy married Kevin Sullivan (also a Northeastern alum and Microsoft employee). Rachel graduated from Northeastern University in May 2009.  She moved to Seattle in July 2009 to begin her new career at Microsoft in the APEX Program.

My primary career was electrical engineering. I worked for Eastman Kodak Company for 23 years having various assignments from Field Engineer to Field Specialist to Service Manager. When our entire division was sold to Danka Office Imaging I continued with Danka for 3 more years where I managed on-site customer service in Connecticut and Rhode Island. See my Kodak Images of the Past page.

Today I am a Strategic Account Manager with Sun Microsystems working from the Connecticut office for the past 10 years. I am responsible for customer service support for several large national accounts in the enterprise computing environment. Chances are that many of the web pages you see over the internet are coming from Sun computers.

  Sun Microsystems has been acquired by Oracle.  I am pleased to accept an offer to continue employment with Oracle as a Customer Services Account Management Consultant.

I am very involved in my parish at St. Joseph Church in Bristol CT:

• Cantor, Vocal Choir and Handbell Choir member.
• Adult and Youth education, workshop and seminar presenter.
• Completed the 2006-2008 Archdiocesan Lay Ministry formation program.
• Published church music composer.
• Member emeritus, Pastoral Council and past chair for nine years.
• Liturgy Committee.
• Parish webmaster.
• Parish and School Technology and Computer IT administrator.

I have presented numerous workshops and seminars on music, the sacraments, worship and liturgy within the parish and the central Connecticut area. I am a member of the Hartford Chapter of the National Pastoral Musicians (NPM) and have moderated discussion panels on church music. Some of my original music compositions appear on CDs available from the Holy Family Monastery and Retreat Center in West Hartford CT., run by the Passionist Community, and on CDs that accompany the Quest program for Small Christian Communities from the Archdiocese of Hartford. My music is also used within our parish liturgies.

In October 2008 I presented a four-hour class on liturgy for the Archdiocesan Lay Ministry formation program.

I am a hard core computer hobbyist with a focus on home automation and remote control of houses and radio equipment over the internet. I'm an expert hacker of the Motorola Razr V3c and the Palm Treo 655p. I am a power user of the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet and a Linux user since 1993. My first real computer was the Heathkit H89 which I built in 1983. Although I no longer have any H89's I do have a fully operational Kaypro-10!

My friends and I re-wrote the Heath BIOS for the H89. We converted it to Z80 instructions, improved efficiency and functionality, reduced its size and added ZCPR3/Z-System support. We eventually built Ampro and Micromint SB180 systems and modified hardware and software on those systems with a passion. I authored many magazine articles published in REMark, the journal of the Heath/Zenith Users Group. (Bill Gates also had articles published there although we did not appear in any of the same issues.) I also authored articles for The Computer Journal and I was associate editor of the SEBHC Journal and a regular contributor.

I created an X10 home control software package for CP/M that used the CP290 interface. This program used the standard IMP/MEX serial port overlays which allowed the program to run on all the popular CP/M computers of the day.  All these programming initiatives were accomplished in Z80 assembly language.

In modern times I have created and administer several web sites for my parish, parish school and other organizations.  I have recently started learning the Parallax Propeller controller to start developing hardware and software again.

I am a licensed Amateur Radio Operator and repeater builder, WA1LMV, since 1969, with an Advanced Class license. I have built and operated several VHF and UHF repeater systems throughout central Connecticut. I was one of the 6 Meter repeater pioneers in Connecticut with WR1AIB on the air in 1978. I developed custom repeater control logic that evolved into a personally designed microprocessor based controller. I wrote the software myself which consisted of 170 pages of Z80 assembly language instructions. See my Ham Radio Page.