Welcome. Here’s a brief introduction to me and what I write about.

I write primarily about Faith (religion, usually-but-not-always related to Christianity, and politics, when necessary and/or unavoidable), as well as Technology.

Occasionally I will also add Personal items, and share the occasional link to the interesting, odd, or otherwise attention-worthy.

If you would like to receive posts via RSS or email, you can Subscribe (free of charge, naturally) to receive posts on any or all of the above topics. Each of those four topics (faith, tech, personal, links) can be subscribed to separately, as I realize that many people may be interested in some and not interested in others.

If you want to find me elsewhere around the web, you can use the links on the sidebar.

If you would like to get in touch with me, you can contact me via email.

Background

I have been writing online since 1996, shortly after I graduated from Allegheny College with a dual degree in Religious Studies and English. I had started out as a Computer Science major before realizing that I liked using computers much more than programming them. My interest in technology, religion, and writing remains intertwined.

I started out as one of the site maintainers for the PEAK FTP site for NeXTStep and OpenStep software, writing HTML that I cobbled together by looking at other websites. If there had been such a thing as “blogging software” back then, I would have been glad to use it. In 2001 I setup my own domain name (TnTLuoma.com) which went through a variety of blogging software from Greymatter to MovableType to WordPress (and probably a few others that I’m forgetting).

It was there that I wrote “30 Days to Becoming an Opera Lover” about the Opera web browser, as well as posted daily pictures of our son (using some incredibly ugly PHP code I wrote myself) since he was growing up far from the rest of our family, and the occasional “techie” article. I even served as a technical reviewer on a few technology books back in the early 2000s.

I also figured out how to stop the iPhone from saying “ducking” when you meant something else, a tip that was linked to from just about every tech blog in the known world, most notably DaringFireball, The Unofficial Apple Weblog, and Wired. I also received some attention for instructions I wrote up on creating a “Dual Band” AirPort network.

For several years I served as the content manager/webmaster Transition Into Ministry website, which is part of the Lilly Endowment’s Fund for Theological Education. I also managed the weekly electronic newsletter and website for the Presbytery of Scioto Valley.

I earned Master of Divinity (M.Div) from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1998, followed by a certificate in Youth & Theology in 2000 through Princeton’s Institute for Youth Ministry. Since 1998, I have served in the Presbyterian Church (USA) as an ordained minister of Word and Sacrament. I was chosen to be part of the inaugural class of the First Parish Project. I have had articles published in the PCUSA’s Hungry Hearts magazine and in Congregations magazine from The Alban Institute.

In addition, I am now one of the writers for The Unofficial Apple Weblog and the resident “Computer Expert” at ManageMyLife.com, a subsidiary of Sears.

I am also working on my Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) in Reformed Christian Spirituality through Pittsburgh Theological Seminary with an expected graduation in June 2012. (And if either of my advisors happens to be reading this, yes, I know I need to get more revisions to you.)

“What is ‘Rhymes With Diploma’?”

People often have a difficult time figuring out how to spell and/or pronounce my last name (Luoma), despite the fact that it is spelled exactly like it sounds, and sounds exactly like it is spelled. I realized that it was helpful to tell people that it “rhymes with diploma” as a guide to pronunciation.

If you cannot remember the website name “luo.ma” you can also use “RhymesWithDiploma.com” which will also bring you here — as will TJLuoma.com, just for completeness.