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About Scott McGrath




Scott McGrath grew up in a small town in Vermont, and embraced computers at an early age.  He wrote his first BASIC program when he was 5 years old, and by age 11 he was writing, using, and posting his own software utilities on local bulletin board systems. He became locally known for attending local meetups with BBS users twice his age to trade pointers.  By the time he entered high school, he was performing helpdesk support and IT consulting for various local businesses.

Attending Vermont Technical College was a transformative experience for Scott.  He was formally educated on many subjects that he had previously self-taught, including operating systems, micro-controllers, analog and digital circuits, wireless technologies and networking. He became interested in leadership and was president of the student body when he graduated, in 1999.  Most importantly, he bonded with like-minded people and formed a lifelong group of peers with the thirst for acquisition and practical application of high-tech skills (AKA "hackers").  

Scott discovered a love of playing music on the bass guitar. He honed his musical chops as well as his entrepreneurial skills in a number of bands - playing rock, jazz standards, and everything in between. He has been a founding member of several original bands, including Rock/Americana/Jamband November Guest, which saw commercial and public radio airplay on over 100 stations nationally.  Scott owns and operates Ownrisk Media: a project recording studio and provider of high-tech services for musicians.  He has written podcast theme music for the Fresh Ubuntu podcast, and Dinosaurs: Before They Were Fuels, and other internet podcasts. His musical composition has been featured on CNET's Buzz Out Loud podcast.  

Today, Scott works full time as director of information technology and software developer for a company focused on design and manufacturing of LED-based products and associated web apps, smartphone apps, embedded and IoT devices.  In his spare time, he writes and records music, as well as creates hardware and software projects based on his own ideas.  He also performs IT consulting and occasional contract work through his own company, High Tech Harmony.

Websites
  • GitHub - See some of the projects Scott has been working on
  • Ownrisk Media - Recording studio and provider of music services (owner/operator)
  • Zephrus - 3 Piece Original Rock Ensemble
  • The Band Rowan - Vermont's best known and loved Celtic band (upright bass, vocals)
  • November Guest - Original rock/americana jam band (bass, vocals)
  • High Tech Harmony - Websites and outsourced IT your business can afford.

Blogs
  • Scamwagon - Scott McGrath's official blog. An eclectic mix of topics that will be most interesting to musicians, car freaks and gadget geeks.
  • Partis Scientia (retired) -Mostly educational or informative pieces having to do with geeky topics such as Linux and Ham Radio.
  • Veggie Golf (retired) - Dedicated to my 2002 VW Golf TDI and what I do to it.


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