Internet and Data Systems Manager

Gabe joined FMR in 1998 as office manager and moved into the role of Internet and data systems manager in 2003. His interest in web and database technologies and penchant for solving problems (or at least trying to) play well to his position — an amalgam of tech support, web development, database management, and technology strategy.

He came to FMR from Citizens for a Better Environment, where he was database manager. He has assisted several Twin Cities-area organizations in building their database capacities and Internet presence since the mid 1990s.

One of Gabe’s passions is Free Software, open formats, and related efforts to ensure that the tools of technology, as well as the information that we produce with these tools, will continue to serve the public good.

In his work at FMR, Gabe finds guidance in words of Douglas Adams:

“Technology”, as the computer scientist Bran Ferren memorably defined it, is “stuff that doesn’t work yet.” We no longer think of chairs as technology, we just think of them as chairs. But there was a time when we hadn’t worked out how many legs chairs should have, how tall they should be, and they would often “crash” when we tried to use them. Before long, computers will be as trivial and plentiful as chairs… I’m sure we will look back on this last decade and wonder how we could ever have mistaken what we were doing with them for “productivity.”

Gabe lives in Minneapolis with his partner, Heidi.

Member of FMR staff since: May 1998

Duties: Developing, maintaining and enhancing our technological capacities and Internet outreach; Evaluating and implementing technology tools to assist FMR’s program work.

Education: Bachelor’s degree, Gustavus Adolphus College; Majors in Philosophy and German, History Minor. Concentration in ethics and environmental philosophy.

Books that frequently come off his shelf: The Brewmaster’s Table by Garrett Oliver, Die Gedichte von Bertolt Brecht in einem Band (collected poems by Bertolt Brecht), and the Oxford Dictionary of English.

Interests: Playing electric bass as one third of Mr. K's Dream, human rights advocacy (primarily as an active Amnesty International member), vegetarian cooking, bicycling, and, of course, fiddling with computers both local and remote. He is a self-professed “beer snob.”

Frequent listening: In heavy rotation right now, Kitchens of Distinction and The Wedding Present. Generally, the Kitchens vie with U2 for the title of all time favorite.

Favorite location on the river: “Hmm. That’s a tough one. Summit Brewing Company is right on the bluff top, but Town Hall Brewery, upstream, is also just a stone’s throw from the river. I think a sampling’s in order, after which I’ll get back to you.”

Quote:

Today we can decipher a stone tablet written 2,000 years ago with the help of a book from the library and our own curiosity; we can read Shakespeare without paying a license fee to someone holding a patent on the English language. Yet when we chat with a friend online or download a form from a government web site, we unwittingly navigate a maze of patented processes, propriety data formats, and restrictive use licenses that raises the question: “How much do we really control our own private and public assets?” These questions highlight the interplay of technology with broader concerns of democracy, freedom of communication, and public policy.

Rivers I’ve had the joy of living near and exploring: The Sugar (New Hampshire), the Zumbro, the Minnesota, the Dreisam (Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany), and, of course, the Mississippi.

Last big vacation: London and Bristol: climbing tall things (monuments, cathedrals, hills, observatories, towers) and sampling the finest in hand-pulled real ales.

Favorite File Extension: .txt

Rush or Yes? Rush