I love technology! But not as much as my family, friends, and colleagues, you see...

I love tech and gadgets. Anything that turns on, sends a signal, and makes life convenient is up my alley. I want to know about every new gadget and tool coming out; I want to read about them, read about how others use them, and I want to try them out to see if they impact my life for the better.

I'm also passionate about tech being useful, usable, and cost-effective for the people around me. Lots of tech is very cool in concept, but can it help people accomplish their goals? Is it easy to use? Are there alternative solutions that cost less? That's what I want to help my friends, family and colleagues figure out.

I created this interactive Thing-Link illustration to highlight what I'm talking about here. It goes in depth on some of the technologies that interest me; how I've helped people choose and utilize different technologies; and some of the questions that I grapple with when investigating and applying technology.

Taking a 10,000 foot view on the topics of curiosity and passion - I can tell what I'm curious about by what I spend my time reading and thinking about. I know what I'm passionate about based on what gets me worked up (a smart fridge for $3,500? WHAT?), or what makes me excited or happy (like helping someone adopt a technology and have it meaningfully improve their life in some way).

And questions make all of that happen. Questions like:

• How can we make a process easier? Cheaper?

• What is keeping people from using this tool? Can training make it more useful?

• Why are we considering a technology in the first place? Is it necessary? Is there a better way?

In summary, when I think about what spurs my curiosity, what I am constantly thinking about and reading about, it's tech. And what gets me fired up? Making tech useful and usable for people who just want it to work. And it shouldn't break the bank.