I will start with some information about myself. I currently work for the Checkfree Corporation in the Customer Care Department and I am a graduate of Franklin University ,where I majored in Marketing. I feel it is very important to work in a field you are personally interested in. I really believe in the Electronic Bill Pay and Presentment that Checkfree is the industry leader in. 

For entertainment, I have what could best be called eclectic tastes. I enjoy going to the harness races and primarily wager on the Meadowlands ( a harness track in the New York metropolitan area). I enjoy harness racing but for some reason have never really gotten into the thoroughbreds. I would rather see the Little Brown Jug than the Kentucky Derby any day of the week. This year I am going to follow the Meadowlands on Saturday nights and see how I would do if I was betting real money. I believe that it is possible to win money on pari-mutual wagering but it would take an incredible amount of research and money management. Of course I am not going to wager real money ( I think handicapping is best done as an intellectual exercise ).

If you decide you want to start following the trotters and pacers, there are a couple of sites I recommend. The first and by far the best is the Harness Handicapping Center. Steve M., who runs the site, offers free picks to the Meadowlands, but the best part of his site is the handicapping advice he gives. I have learned more from reading his views than I have from reading all the harness wagering books I have been able to find. His archive of handicapping columns has just about everything you could want to know about harness racing. There is also a Handicapping Forum where some pretty interesting conversations take place.

The two other sites I visit are the United States Trotting Association  and Times in Harness. These sites are more geared to the sport of horse racing but they both contain valuable information about the current state of racing. These sites let you keep up with the leaders in the sport and the trends in racing across the country. I feel with simulcasting enabling you to watch races from all over the country, these sites really keep you informed.

My musical tastes right now run towards alternative. I have kind of gotten away from buying albums from new bands because most of the time I only like the songs they play on the radio. My favorite new band is a cow punk band named Son Volt. They are the band the Eagles would have been if they didn't suck.Most ot the time when I buy CDs, I buy stuff from old bands that I never got around to buying. I also listen to a lot of the same bands I did when I was growing up. Some of these are Johnny Winter, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones and the Blue Oyster Cult. The new bands I listen to are the above mentioned Son Volt, Wilco, Foo Fighters, Metallica and Better than Ezra ( I admit I do like them). I recently bought Time Out of Mind by Bob Dylan, mostly because of the reviews it received and it really sucks. He hasn't released a decent album since Blood on the Tracks.For more information about my musical tastes see the Greatest Albums Ever Released.

Here's a shot of the Kawasaki KZ1000 Z1R I owned when I was 18 . When I bought this bike in 1979, it was the fastest stock production motorcycle ever made.Now, you can buy 650s that will run circles around it. Although if I was to buy a motorcycle now, it would definately be a Harley (preferably a Low Rider or a Wide Glide), I gotta admit it would be neat to have another Z1R. I had a lotta great times on that bike and met a lot of good friends. Sometimes I look back at the things I did and the way I was and it seems like I am not even the same person anymore. Fifteen years can go by so fast.

For more information about my personal life, please click here

The computer I'm using currently is a 1.7 AMD with 256 MGB. of  Ram and a 40 Gig Hard Drive. It was built by Computer Success of Columbus Ohio and I am really happy with it. It is plenty fast enough to do everything that I need (or want) to do. Every time I get a new computer, I say this one will last me forever, but I really believe I can get a good three years outta this one.

The software I am using is Windows XP and Microsoft Office 2000. As normal I have bought all kinds of different applications and downloaded all kinds of different stuff from the web.  Internet Explorer is my default browser although I have Mozilla  installed also. For HTML editing, I am using Front Page 2000. It is pretty neat but there are a lot of things I need to learn about it's features. The main reason for this web site is to help me learn HTML. On the game front, I have three different versions of Links LS installed (98,2000 and 2001), Half Life, Doom and Bicycle Blackjack. I play the golf and blackjack games a lot, but I still haven't figured out what's going on with Half-Life. I just don't have the attention span to play these games for hours.

I bought my first computer a little over six years ago and I have owned three since then. Now that I have a 1.7 AMD, I really don't have any need for a faster processor. There is rarely a time when I have to wait for my computer to do anything. I suppose it would be different if I was a big-time gamer, but for me, my current setup is more than enough. I believe any more speed would be just overkill. The thing that has made the most difference to me has been my broadband connection. I cannot overemphasize the difference this has made. The Internet is finally what it should be! If you can get a cable or DSL hookup, I suggest you do it immediately. You will be amazed at the difference it makes in your on-line enjoyment.

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Last Modified on 8/10/2003
David Church [email protected]