About the Author

Dave Mabe (http://dave.runningland.com) is an accomplished and largely self-taught engineer and now a writer who strives to create a simple, elegant solution to a complex problem. Dave has worked at AT&T in the communications industry for eight years and has worked with BlackBerry devices for almost five. Always looking to save a few keystrokes and mouse clicks, Dave has automated countless business processes for Fortune 500 companies. He is the kind of person who would rather spend several hours inventing an automated solution than spend a few monotonous moments each day performing a menial task. He fancies himself a proficient Perl programmer and would love to see Perl running on a BlackBerry one day. Dave enjoys tinkering with the latest gadgets and software, both closed and open source. He has authored and contributed to several technology-related publications.

When not working on computer-oriented stuff, you're likely to see Dave running on the roads and trails (mostly trails!) of Chapel Hill, where he graduated with a BS in Mathematical Sciences, specializing in Operations Research. Although quite a bit slower than the glory days of college running at UNC, he can still leg out a decent 10K. Dave lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina with his three energetic daughters, Sarah Jane, Rosemary, and Lizzie. Dave's running is easily overshadowed by that of his wife, Joan Nesbit Mabe (http://www.runningland.com), who is a talented runner, writer, and public speaker, who represented the United States in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Not being the techie type, she is still not exactly sure what Dave does for a living, but enjoys her Perl-automated cup of coffee each morning nonetheless.