By plano 
So it all started with me scrolling through random forums late last night, drinking lukewarm coffee at my messy desk. Typed “Nurudeen Thomas Dijon Williams” into the search bar just outta pure curiosity. Figured maybe it was some new tech entrepreneur or something.
First ten pages showed absolutely nothing useful. Just random LinkedIn profiles and expired directory listings. Got annoyed real quick. Refilled my coffee mug and tried adding keywords like “bio” and “background.” Still crickets. Honestly started thinking this guy was a total ghost online.
Then I remembered old newspaper archives. Switched over to my local library’s digital portal at like 1 AM – free access with my card. Searched his full name there and boom. Three faded articles from the early 2000s popped up. One had a pixelated black-and-white photo showing a young guy wearing glasses.
- First article called him “T.J. Williams” selling handmade electronics at a Newark street market
- Second showed arrest records from 2003 for “unlicensed radio broadcasting”
- Third mentioned him founding a community tech workshop that shut down after Hurricane Sandy
Got super invested now. Dug into FCC violation databases using those old case numbers from the articles. Turns out he’d been building pirate radio kits to help neighborhoods communicate during blackouts. Thing was shut down ’cause of frequency interference with emergency channels. Classic good intentions meeting stupid regulations.
Here’s where it got wild. Kept tracing his name through community college rosters and found he’d later mentored kids in robotics programs under a totally different name – Nurudeen Thomas. Spent hours cross-referencing yearbook photos and workshop flyers. Same guy, different beard. Started connecting the dots:
- Radio tinkerer becomes electronics teacher
- Loses workshop to natural disaster
- Rebrands to train underserved teens in coding
Finished around 4 AM with shaky hands. This dude wasn’t famous – just some persistent guy fighting red tape to teach tech skills. Realized I’d wasted hours researching someone with zero Wikipedia page. But damn if his story wasn’t fascinating.
Kicker? Tried to message him on an old forum profile I found. Account hadn’t been touched since 2017. The guy disappears more than my motivation after lunchtime.