My name is Dale Noll. My wife and I have lived in Pewaukee since 1994. I have worked in the computer industry since the age of 15 and am currently employed as an IS (Information Systems) manager for a Milwaukee based company.

I had not been all that interested in blogging until 2005, when the political climate of the City of Pewaukee changed and I decided I wanted to share my opinions. At the same time, I decided it was time that I do what I could to make changes in local government. I ran for Alderman in District 1 of Pewaukee in the spring 2006 election. Unfortunately I lost that election. But I lost to a qualified person who works very hard for the residents of Pewaukee. There are two seats in each aldermanic district, and the second seat was on the ballot in the spring 2007 election cycle. On April 3rd, 2007 I was elected as alderman for District 1 of the City of Pewaukee.

The first part is easy... I live in Pewaukee. The second part is also easy... I am a Patriot.

Actually, the name was not easy to come up with. I have never been good as coming up with catchy names for anything. With nicknames on websites, I always borrowed names from books, movies or TV. I wanted to do something different this time. I was talking with some friends about a new nickname and the idea of patriotism came up. After some thought, Pewaukee Patriot was born. I used that on a few blog sites, then decided that I was going to use it for the website name also.

I had never really thought about it before. The idea actually came from a friend who I have known for 20 years. When I stop to think about it... Yes I am.

I believe that we live in the best country in the world. The United States of America may not be perfect, but it is the best country in the world. Why is it so great? We have freedoms that are not typical in many other countries. If we do not like the current government, we can change it. If we don't like the policies of the government, we can speak against it. Anyone can, and should, become involved in the workings of the government.

I work in the computer industry, as I have already said. I am fortunate enough to enjoy my work. I call myself a 'Geek' because I love to work with computers, often I do not consider it to be work.

I am a fan of the Open Source Software movement. This website was created completely on Free and Open Source Software. OSS provided me with the freedom the obtain quality software, affordably, and have the ability to alter that software to my needs. The OSS community is a world wide community who is willing to share information and ideas freely. This allows software to grow in ways that proprietary software cannot. I am not against proprietary software, and I use some regularly. What I do not agree with is being forced to purchase low quality, high priced software every time you buy a new computer. And then being forced to buy upgrades to that software because new versions are not compatable with old versions.

I also enjoy riding my motorcycle. I have a 2001 Harley-Davidson® Ultra Classic® Electra Glide® which I attempt to put on about 10,000 miles per year. I ride as often as possible and take at least one long trip each year. Riding allows me to unwind, forget about problems, and become one with the world around me.

I also have two ATVs which my wife and I use on the trails in northern Wisconsin. We have a group of friends and relatives which we go riding with. Sometime we use the trails around the Adams-Friendship area, sometime we visit the Black River Falls area, and for a challenge we head up to the Park Falls & Iron Belt area. In the spring of 2004, we went to Park Falls and hit the Dead Horse Trail. I really enjoyed the challenges of the trail and working with a group to overcome those challenges. Here are some pictures from the trip.

Last Updated Monday, April 16 2007 @ 05:39 PM CDT