A little about me

My name is Richard Gowen and I live in the Dallas TX area with my wife and two adult children.

I currently work as a Solution Architect for PepsiCo. Although that will be changing soon.

In my spare time I am a hacker and maker and gamer and brewmaster and programmer and more. … all the things.

My community is important to me and I volunteer or am involved with many local groups like Dallas Hacker Association a.k.a. DHA, DC214, and BSidesDFW. I’m one of the founders of a non-profit hackerspace / makerspace named TheLab.ms.

For the past few years I have been creating indie electronic conference badges for the #badgelife movement which celebrates wearable electronic artworks. From creating vector art, to electronic circuit design, to laying out PCB traces in EDA design, to writing firmware for components, when it all comes together successfully its such a sense of accomplishment it can be addictive. I find real joy in making these badges and overcoming the challenges they present.

In hacker and infosec circles I am known by the handle @alt_bier which is also the name I use when publishing training materials and projects. I teach classes on Networking, Python, Microcontrollers, and more which I occasionally live stream on Twitch and post to my other sites.

My other sites:

• altbier.us - training and project content
• youtube channel - training and project content
• mydnd.gowen.net - game collection
• vtt.gowen.net - virtual tabletop