02/16/2026
Hey there FastWave.Biz Family !!
My last post was for Halloween I think; back when everything was 'normal' in our world. On November 9th, three months and six days ago, my wife Theresa Aschbacher and the CEO of Megahertz Computer Consulting, Inc. passed away in my arms, at home. We were married 32 years 5 months & 5 days. I am so proud of her and how we lived and what we accomplished together for all those years. Everyone who knows us, and hopefully anyone who has done business with FastWave.Biz can tell we are Christians running a Christ-centered honest and honorable business.
Everybody here knows us as FastWave.Biz - which we are, as a dba (does business as) of Megahertz Computer Consulting, Inc which I started as a college student majoring in Electrical Engineering at NMSU. Theresa & I were married in 1993 and we incorporated MHz in 1996 as part of launching FastWave.Biz as a WISP (that name hadn't been coined yet; we were a MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) or Fixed Wireless) there really wasn't a name for our service, cell phones were 30 minutes a month (90 cents a minute after that) and Las Cruces only had them because we were part of El Paso's coverage. Pagers were the norm and computers used 28.8k dial-up modems.
As an accountant, Theresa taught me that making money was actually a big part of owning a business (who knew?). I love building stuff; I talk 'engineer'. Theresa taught me how to talk 'business'. She introduced me to a world I didn't even know existed. Way more than 'boy meets girl'; this was 'struggling engineer meets accountant with a dozen years banking experience' a match made in Heaven; is God good or what ?!?!
This is going to be a long post; combining Valentine's day and President's day. I didn't even realize it was Valentine's day till after midnight (days (and nights) don't mean much to me now). Theresa & I celebrated Feb 12th - the anniversary of our first date. {I bought our daughter & two granddaughters 25 red roses on the 12th}. We were then engaged on March 12th and married on June 12th - all in 1993 ("Thank you Jesus, don't let me screw this up")
Theresa was diagnosed with cancer nine months after we were married, 100% disabled two years later. the vast majority of her 46 major surgeries followed. This month would have been 30 years medically disabled; for the last 3 months & 6 days she has been running & jumping with her Lord & Savior Jesus. No pain, every tear dried & redeemed; Glorious !!
Meanwhile back on the ranch - or in this case, at the office - President's Day - or celebrating our God given freedoms in a nation that is the last bastion of freedom and independence (even in NM & CO) to pursue what we love & provide for ourselves and our families and our community. I mention CO because we had to start living in Colorado Springs in 2007 because of Theresa's declining health - it is the closest place to Cruces where she felt better year round and had good healthcare. I can't imagine how big Cruces would be now if so many weren't in CO - in almost 20 years; if we are in a group of at least 6 people here; somebody (else) has a connection to Cruces; its so crazy.
Anyway; we, MHz (as FastWave.Biz) have always been a telemetry & Systems integration company. I've always had a knack for taking stuff apart and putting it back together as something else (my dad said I'd take my nose apart to see what makes it run).
In 2016 I was complaining to a friend that Quickbooks desktop was killing me - crazy number of hours every month fixing their broken credit card processing system. He said he could help; he was working for a company that did credit card processing (I had no idea) and he not only saved me $1000 each month in fees, it also ended the 8-hour-long telephone tech support calls every month. I then (being me) created some web software that allowed our clients to securely log into their account & see their open invoices (and recently paid) as well as pay them online themselves. This system also took many hours per week of drudgery off of me and our bookkeeper.
Fast forward to 2024 and we were forced to move from QB desktop to QB online. I couldn't use my nice software as much and our fees skyrocketed. I ran into my friend again (in CO of all places) and lamented my new predicament. Well, in the intervening 10 years his company had been building stuff too. They have a new product for QB Online which saves me even more - and would I (we) like to use our systems/software/hardware expertise to integrate their credit card processing with a variety of untapped vertical markets around the country?
You will be hearing some new advertising soon; FastWave.Biz is now also in the credit card processing integration business. We are working with Explorpay.com (one of only 13 card processors in the US) to provide affordable credit card processing. We are the local reps (both in NM & CO). We are providing all their dozens of products & services as well as building our own. As systems integrators we inculcate their card processing into your accounting and/or CRM systems to save you time as well as money & frustration.
I am so proud of what Theresa & I accomplished being married for 32 years 5 months & 5 days. I miss her terribly but know she is so much better off there than here. Theresa's expertise and heart are alive and well; our culture at MHz / FastWave.Biz We were the first Broadband company in southern NM; there are now many options and we appreciate all you who trust us for your Internet needs. We have done many other things in the past - all technology related, moving with the times. Now is no different; we are still building stuff, we are still taking things apart and creating something new. The industry has new buzz words; SaaS, CRM, Web software; lots of names that still boil down to us, thinking outside the box, providing solutions to problems today, helping you keep more of your hard earned money, saving you time & minimizing your frustration.
Blessings to you all,
Gary Aschbacher
President (and once again sole owner)
Megahertz Computer Consulting, Inc.
FastWave.Biz
Explorpay.com - Account Executive
