Hello all
My first child was born in June of 2004. Many pictures at Jenny's home page.
A note to the voluntarily childless - if you are considering having a child, check out Jeff Vogel's pages at Irony Central, now published as the book 'The Poo Bomb'. I have found parenthood quite rewarding, but it is something to go into with your eyes open, and with your sense of humor on overload.
Roughly a year and a half ago, I started working for Google. It was quite a change from Alodar Systems - at Alodar, I was one of a dozen people doing indepedent consulting work. Here, I am part of a substantial team working on TV ads.
Prior to that, I worked for Alodar Systems for just under eight years. I did substantial work in biotech, and in e-commerce. Both were exciting, educational, and got me thinking about 'big data' problems.
James Watson gave a commencement address wherein he told the eager MBAs to work with people smarter than themselves. Google has provided that, as did contracting for Alodar. It is good advice, when you can find a way to take it.
Current projects involve much work with Google Web Toolkit. This turns server side Java into client side Javascript, allows for easy RPC/AJAX, and insulates you to the extent it can from browser idiosyncracies. Neat tool, all open source.
Prior to Google, I spend most of my time working in biotech, Java, and databases. In the recent past, I have learned Web Objects, written an Eclipse plug-in, and gotten very good at making XOM and JDOM do my bidding. I created an ANT based build system, and experimented with continuous integration system. I have also written XML importers for our databases, and architected quite a bit of the middleware of the Metagraph project. For an NIH project, I leaned Cocoa and implemented several Core Data-based applications. Neat - ERD meets GUI with automatic change notification.
I have also done some work on the consumer side of the world. For Shopzilla, I wrote a command line tool to examine, query, and validate their databases. I also wrote some support tools for their hundred thousand hit a day survey system, and helped create a test plan to make sure that no survey data falls between the cracks. Their primary implementation language is Perl, with elements written in SQL, Java, and other languages as appropriate. While I do appreciate the dynamism Perl offers, the experience has convinced me that there is value to Java's static typing and amazing refactoring tools.
I am a strong Macintosh advocate, and I find MacOS X one of the most powerful systems available today. One uses the right tool for the job, and a real Unix command prompt is the right tool surprisingly often, even if a GUI app is the end product. I prefer the Mac to Linux because it is faster to navigate an infrequently used GUI than an infrequently used command line tool or script. Who would have thought that time spent working on a NeXT in grad school would turn out to be useful this many years later?
Like many methodologies, there are users, advocates, and True Believiers of Extreme and Agile programming. I have to count myself as a advocate with strong 'test, but verify' mindset. Testing has saved my bacon in a lot of contracts, especially when changes come fast. Frequent iterations with customer driven priorities have made for software that solves actual problems. That said, I have seen failures along the way when the methodologies are used beyond the scope that a project justifies. In short, agile methodologies let you code without fear and refactor with verve. Those do not insure a successful project, but they sure help.
I am a wholehearted supporter of good tools. Refactoring editors like Eclipse and IDEA. They are amazing time savers, and I wish XCode had more refactoring support. Code coverage tools can lead to busywork, but if used judiciously as a way of testing your unit tests, they can really help you figure out what parts of your code are well understood.
Previously, I said that Dvorak keyboards are a good thing. Since I switched to Dvorak eleven years ago, I have not had a trace of RSI, despite spending more hours a day typing now than then. As a free side benefit, it makes my computers unusable to others who lack the Great Dvorak Secret.
Our current RPG is a DnD 4th edition game. It has had a slow start, but it is moving more towards the role playing part, and away from the wargaming. Very cool.
The Bengal cat has discovered that Cathy is fun to play with. He is cute,
soft, and furry, so we let him get away with things. See pictures at pictures of the good kitty
And what web page would be complete without a spot of blatant self promotion and a resume?
Copyright ©2001-2006