The Web Site of James D. Gafford

James D. Gafford
Systems & Software Consulting

12 Hepburn Heights Road, Apt. B, San Rafael, California 94901-1631
(415) 472-1776 (Voice) • (415) 328-5644 (Cell)

My Microsoft Certification:
	As of 2013, January, I am certified as a "Microsoft Office Specialist Master" (…or "Master Specialist"…not entirely sure which…but here's a PDF of my Certificate) for the Microsoft Office 2010 suite. This means I can offer assistance on a wide variety of issues working with Microsoft Office 2010 apps: Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, and Access (whew!). (And FWIW, I've been using Office 2016 and Offcie 365 much longer than I ever did 2010—what's changed across the versions is way way less than what's exactly the same, so…I'm more able to help now than I was then.)
To view my official Microsoft Certification Transcript, click here, then enter the following: Transcript ID: 1032841 Access Code: 92318745 Please note that you must copy the Transcript ID and Access Code shown here and paste them into the corresponding fields on the Transcript Verification Form. (Microsoft does not permit them to be auto-filled by a hyperlink…more's the nuisance….) The above-link opens the Transcript page in a separate browser tab, though, so this is relatively easy by cutting-and-pasting back and forth between the two tabs.

My Resume (Download a PDF here, an MS Word document here).

A Letter of Recommendation from my most recent employer (as of 2023, Nov. 3).

Other Stuff to Download from Me:

For those who knew him, Dale Alan Kessler (7th Grade World History teacher at General Anthony Wayne Junior High School in Malvern, Pennsylvania) was arguably the most memorable teacher they ever had. Click here to dowload an Adobe Acrobat (

PDF)-format file (36,864 bytes) containing a story I wrote in 1999 about my memories of Mr. Kessler, and the last time I saw him.

Click here to dowload an Adobe Acrobat (

PDF)-format file (1,284,645 bytes) containing a short monograph about using formulas in Mircosoft Excel. (PLEASE NOTE that as of 2014, March, this is still very much a work in progress.) (Please also note that as of 2023, November, the same is still true (…sigh!…).)

Click here to dowload an Adobe Acrobat (

PDF)-format file (2,189,345 bytes) containing the latest (read: final) version of the PowerPoint slide show I used to teach my class, "How To Get The Most Out Of Your Internet Dating Experience." The class was first offered through the Tamalpais Union School District Adult and Community Education Department in 2003, November, and 2004, January. This version of the presentation was created for the class originally scheduled on 2006, March 1st & 8th.

DISCLAIMER: Please note that as of 2006, March, I no longer participate in any online dating forums (UPDATE: Gretchen and I have been a couple since 2015, February 8th--YAAAAY!!!--and we were MARRIED on 2016, May 12th--Quarduple YAAAAY!!!), inasmuch as I finally realized they were not working for me. Still (if I do say so myself), this is a pretty good presentation. Your milage may (and most probably will) vary.

Click here to dowload an Adobe Acrobat (

PDF)-format file (82,467 bytes) containing a diagram illustrating how formatting information is structured inside a Mircosoft Word document.

2022, May 30

I am saddened by the need to inform anyone who follows my site (…and I'm by no means certain there are a great many of you…) that my wife of six years Gretchen and separated and our divorce was final as of today 2022, May 30. The process has been more than amicable, and I am overwhelmingly grateful for the time and opportunity I had to share a portion of my life with a truly wonderful woman.

Our reasons for ending the marriage boil down to “irreconcilable differences” we, very frankly, worked on for the better part of our time together. No one should infer from this anything other than that we are both sad to have to end our relationship, and are both accepting of the circumstances and moving forward.

Gretchen has gone back to work giving COVID vaccinations and administering rapid-tests, and she remains at the address we shared in San Francisco.* I moved back to Marin County (San Rafael) last October, and I continue to work full time (almost exclusively at home) for Omnirax in Sausalito.^†

Still trying to figure out what to do about Facebook (…sigh!…).

2023, November updates:

*Gretchen moved in June back to where she grew up in Florida. She and I stay in contact, and both look forward to the next chapters in our lives.

^†Omnirax closed its doors with no advamce notice on 2023, Nov. 3. So for the moment, I'm back in the job market.

The Day Ray Trygstad and I met Gene Roddenberry

The Blue Angels Make A Mark!

2019, October 10

So…I'm driving home late this afternoon, traveling south across the Golden Gate Bridge, and what do I see and hear…but the tail number 5 member of the Blue Angels, buzzing the South Tower!

Well, naturally, I got through the toll gate and off onto a surface road in the Presidio as fast as I could. Pulled over by a bluff on Lincoln Avenue overlooking Chrissy Field, got out, and…started snapping pictures.

Here's a link to a Google Photos album with some of them. Enjoy!

2021, March 15

So…As a (nearly) 43-year Type I diabetic, I do, actually, on occassion, try and count how many grams of carbohydrate I'm about to eat so I can give my insulin pump a reasonable guess at how many units of insulin to bolus.

Here's a web snippet I just copied from a site called Carb Counter.net:

(Find the custom-HTML-generating page to embed a snippet like this on your own web site at:
www.carb-counter.net/AddCustomContent.aspx)

This actually looks to be about as easy-to-use and useful a carb-counting web site as I've ever seen.

Dunno…maybe I'm just late to the game…! 😜

In any event, many thanks to Carb Counter.net. 😊

It is on 2024, April 19th, Friday on the left coast of the U.S.!