I am a husband, father, reader, writer, researcher, occasional website designer and administrator, and all-around geek. I am also a musician who plays the guitar and the bass; I play in a local band and have played as a studio musician for other artists. I am an avid and voracious reader, speak several languages, have worked as an information consultant on topics including culture, language, religion and computers, and spent several years running a small business in North Africa.

This is where I write about stuff that a friend or acquaintance might find interesting; kind of like a Twitter feed, but with more than 140 characters per post. I also like to review books that publishers send me, and occasionally some that I buy; let me know if you have any suggestions.

You can email me at matthew AT matthewhelmke DOT com with any comments or questions.

You can also find me on Facebook, and occasionally hanging out on Google+ and Twitter. You will even find me on LinkedIn and on Amazon.com.