+++
title = "Hi, I'm John"
description = "I’m no vExpert but I can generally fumble through a project and make it work. Here’s how I did it."
date = "2021-12-09"
aliases = ["about-john", "about-me", "contact"]
author = "John Bowdre"
+++

By day, I manage a large virtualized server environment, with a focus on learning to leverage cloud and automation technologies to make that task a bit easier. I'm fortunate to be with a company and in a position that lets me explore new solutions and influence organization-wide standards. My big project from the past year or so has been a vRealize Automation implementation to streamline our server deployments, and I've been sharing some of what I've learned in that process on my blog.

By night, I help out on Google's product support forums as a Product Expert, where I support Pixel phones, Pixel Buds, Chromebooks (especially Pixelbooks), Wear OS, Google Fit, and Stadia. Helping users troubleshoot their issues scratches my problem-solving itch, and it helps me learn more about the Google products I use.

On weekends, I race my daily-driven 2014 Subaru BRZ in local autocross events or wrench on a 1974 VW Karmann Ghia.

And in the free time I have left, I game on Stadia; being able to seamlessly shift between gaming on my TV or Chromebook or phone is such a slick trick, and has made gaming convenient enough for me to get back into it after a 10 year break.