Hi there! My name is Nyco Herzog. Actually, it’s Nyco Fuentes Herzog. Whenever possible I sneak in all three of my names because up until I got married I didn’t have a middle name. Do not read too much into that, though; you do not have to call me by all three. Nyco, or Mrs. Herzog, will do just fine.

I came to Portland in the summer of 2005 with my soul mate, Jared Bankes Herzog (you can call him Jed). Before that I lived in South Carolina, where I graduated from Clemson University with a BS in Industrial Technology Education. We love this city for it’s proactive tech community, political openness, and people from all walks of life.

Some of my shining moments:

• While in college I held a weekly tutoring session for student-athletes who were struggling with AutoCAD. It was me, in a computer lab, surrounded by as many as twenty football players who were at least twice my size. None of them failed the Computer-aided Design class we were taking together, though.

• For eight months I was a shop girl at a comic book store. I have a box of collectible comic books and a ceramic bust of Optimus Prime to show for it.

• I ran a movie-making contest while on staff at Clemson University. It was called “Lights, Camera, Clemson!” and was open to the entire University. If you search YouTube.com, I’m pretty sure you’ll find the spoof a group of guys submitted to the judges. It was hilarious, but unfortunately had to be disqualified for not adhering to the contest guidelines.

Nowadays I spend most, but not all, of my time writing for my website, LookSomethingShiny.com and volunteering. I also enjoy walking from place to place, rather than taking public transportation or driving. If you ask nicely I will give you a haircut, as I have four months of beauty school experience under my belt. Oh, and I like to sing. You cannot ask me to do that, however, because I’m too shy.

Thank you for coming to Look, Something Shiny! and playing with me.

I encourage you to browse, comment, and tell your friends.