Welcome to Foster's Homepage

My home away from home

Hello and welcome to the wonderful world of the Internet.  Here you will find just about anything your heart desires.  I hope you have a lot of time on your hands because this can get very time consuming!  I enjoy surfing the World Wide Web in addition to a very addicting hobby called Internet Relay Chat ... or just IRC for short. I became interested in computers while still in my Junior year of High School and have been working with them ever since. Most of my experience has been on the Mainframes, however, recently I started exploring the world of the Personal Computer and I really enjoy the change.  There is so much you can do now and the machines are becoming very powerful and sophisticated.

I live in the state of Pennsylvania, about 65 miles Northwest of Philadelphia, home of the "Eagles", "Flyers", "Sixers", and "Phillies".  In relation to the country of the United States of America, it would be considered located in the Northeast.  If you would like to learn a little bit more about this state then click on some of the following links --->

	Bed and Breakfasts
	Pocono Resort Fun Guide
	Pennsylvania Visitors Network

As I stated above ... one of my favorite hobbies while I'm on the Internet is chatting on IRC.  I never thought that I would become so addicted to this ... go figure!   Here is yet another medium for communication using the computer.  Believe it or not, there is a LOT to learn about chatting and using chat programs!  I'll never forget the first couple times I got into the channels and observed all the "fancy" artwork and text I was seeing.  I immediately took it upon myself to learn how this was done ( another mistake of mine since THIS also took up a lot of my time ).  Well, from that point on, I haven't looked back -- I've been chatting ever since ( almost 7 years  now )!  I understand that there are many who say that the Internet is NOT the place to meet anyone for a serious friendship or relationship .. so .. I feel fortunate when I say that I have met some of the nicest people you'd want to meet while chatting.  I have even visited a few of them in person and was treated with plenty of respect.  It's been a positive experience for me -- one that I would do all over again if I had the chance.  There are many different IRC programs available to choose from, of which, mIRC and Pirch are probably the top two.  I chose to use mIRC because this is what I started out with and which, to me, is the easiest to understand and use. I'm sure I'll get plenty of arguments on that one.  I've tried some of the others but have always come back to mIRC for some reason.  Also .. if you're wondering what channel you should go to for your chatting pleasure I would recommend you try out #beginner. All you have to do is log onto an "Undernet" server, then from there, "/join #beginner".  If you'd like a little more information about the mIRC programs you can visit some of the following sites.  By the way ... once you become somewhat proficient with this you will want to check out scripts and scripting too ... another time consuming learning process!  Scripts compliment the IRC program and makes it easier to use and more pleasing to the eyes. I am including a few scripting sites here too for your viewing and learning pleasure.

	mIRC Info Center	Your first stop when you encounter mIRC problems.
	Hawkee	Well organized site with mIRC scripting and scripting info.
	mIRC-x	The ultimate mIRC and music search resource!
	paiRC	Your mIRC and IRC resource page.
	#beginner	The #beginner chat channel homepage

Another of my favorite hobbies is riding motorcycle.  Currently, I am riding a 600cc Yamaha Radian and a Triumph TT600 but would love to save enough money to buy a Harley.  I just love the sound and feel of a Harley.  If I'm lucky, I just might be able to afford one in the near future.  I started out riding off-road cycles at the age of 16 ( many years ago ).  It was a very good experience for me and taught me a lot about handling a cycle.  For many, many years all I bought were off-road machines ( Bultaco was my favorite ).  I've ridden all kinds of cycles in my lifetime from the "Choppers" to the "Speed Racers" but I think the most fun was the off-road machines.  If you're interested in cycling like I am then check out some of these sites ---

Please email jfoster420@comcast.net with any comments or suggestions.