My History
My interest and passion for computers started at a very young age. My original computer was a Tandy TX1000 with no hard disk and 640k of memory. At the age of 14 I moved onto a 50Mhz DX 486 and started my lifelong interest in developing software. The original languages I started with were Basic, QBasic, and eventually Visual Basic 3 for Windows 3.x. At my young age I was heavily influenced and mentored by my older brother, who also studied information technology and would later become a CIO for Graybar Electric. Fast forward 12 years and I’ve continued my interest by planning, developing, and integrating custom software for some of the largest organizations in the United States.
Since the start of my career I have worked my way through a number of jobs ranging from technical support to systems manager to software engineer.
My first job as a developer was working for Robert Swanson at Web 2001 in 1998. Web 2001 was a web start up that focused in developing websites for small and medium business over the Midwest United States. Web 2001 was one of the original online e-commerce application houses focusing on Filemaker Pro, Lasso, and LDML based dynamic applications. Allowing us to create robust online catalogs, stores, and showrooms for many of their clients. I was responsible for planning, creating, and integrating a number of their clients sites.
Later I would move onto Primary Networks, a St. Louis local Internet Service Provider. At Primary Networks I would go on to learn the intricacies of Windows and Apple networking. My daily responsibilities were to maintain client connections, monitor server/network equipment, and support any residential or business accounts. My stay at Primary Networks would be cut short when I was hired by a larger firm to fill the role of systems manager.
I’m a seasoned front-end and back-end developer that is highly organized, detail orientated, and capable of working in a fast paced highly driven atmosphere.
My next position was with Design Systems Inc., a Flint Hill Michigan based engineering company. My job title was systems manager and I was in charge of all IT operations at their multiple St. Louis satellite locations. My duties were varied and covered everything from vendor purchasing, systems engineering, systems support, systems integration, network management/monitoring, Osha certification compliance, and many other various related tasks. One of my largest duties was planning and managing the ISO 9001 certification for the entire St. Louis operations. This included moving to strict storage operations, backup operations, and naming conventions. I would also manage all of operations, routing, switching, and optical line equipment for all of the areas servers. This would also include management of all client machines and mobile equipment. The satellite locations for Design Systems Inc. included Daimler-Chrysler, United States Post Office, Ford Motor Co., and Xerox.
After I left Design Systems Inc. I would go on to work for CPI Inc. as a studio technician. My duties were to maintain the computer and digital photography equipment for their remote retail locations . I also advised security issues with DSL integration, VPN configuration, and remote client setup when the retail locations moved to a persistent broadband network.
I work well under pressure and can deliver the results required to meet project deadlines and customer requirements on time.
After CPI I was contracted to AT&T as a Network Engineer. My responsibilities included migrating the @home network to the new AT&TB network (AT&T Broadband). This included maintenance of high speed routing equipment (Cisco/Juniper), server migrations/maintenance (Unix, Solaris, BSD, and Linux), and management of high speed optical data lines. I was also the lead developer for the Tier 3 network group. My duties were to create and implement custom tools to aid and assist in our daily tasks. This included ticket management and groupware software.
After the final migration of the AT&T networks I would go on to form Nugen Software Inc. with Victoria Hollis. Nugen Software Inc. is a small hosting, consulting, and development studio based in St. Louis, MO. The majority of our workload comes from 501 Creative, a non-profit focused design and software development studio. We have developed software as a 3rd party contractor for 501 Creative on a number of projects, including but not limited to: The Missouri Humane Society, The St. Louis History Museum, The St. Louis Contemporary Art Museum, Washington University, Parsons Blewett, The Jewish Community Relations Council, and various other non-profits. Our clients needs included project planning, software planning, software development, and technical consulting.
I would later leave my consultant work for 501 Creative and work full time for another local web development company – jWeb. At jWeb I would go on to create in depth web applications and robust web 2.0 web applications that relied heavily on javascript and javascript libraries. I would create tons of sites and internal tools for customers. While at jWeb I also developed the entire theme that would be used to skin customers custom software so that it’s look and feel was maintained across projects. I would also meet directly with customers to gather requirements and prepare proposals and quote the time required to complete the projects tasks.
I’m a very outgoing and enthusiastic person that is upbeat and brings an optimistic spirit to all the projects that I involve myself in.
While at jWeb I was approached by KMCIS and offered a substantial career change to work as a software analyst and later – a software engineer. I would work to support internally and externally our companies commercially sold software and later I would contribute code and documentation of the vast system for projects involving the United States largest banks, law firms, and government organizations.
I have also operated a number of large scale websites as solo projects outside of daily work. The largest project was Midwest Drum and Bass. A music community that grew to 40,000+ members, 5.7 million page views, and achieved the status of the #1 Drum and Bass website in the United States. This site included lots of custom software development, customization of phpBB (forum software), and a shoutcast/icecast streaming audio server working with a number of custom scripts. This included management of site staff, site artists, and actual website maintenance. When Midwest Drum and Bass was taken offline the database had grown to 1.5Gb and the site resources exceeded 90Gb and over 1Tb of traffic transferred monthly. I would also contribute to other online radio projects for DNB Radio and Elements of Bass.
My Interests
My biggest interests are in software development and audio engineering. I have been passionate since a young age about both. I have produced over 200 songs and audio tracks since 1997 for independent release. I currently spend a large portion of my free time working in my own project studio and at Burnt Ridge Studios, a St. Louis recording and production studio. The music I’ve created has been featured in everything from music videos to even ‘on hold’ music at local music stores.
My interest in music and audio engineering; much like my interest in software development, started at a young age. I started out my interest in elementary and junior high band and eventually in high school I would end up playing lead guitar and bass guitar in various garage bands. It wasn’t until the late 90’s that computers began to evolve into realistic DAW’s (Digital Audio Workstation) and I quickly joined in on the pioneering age of computer music. I have since then published articles, tutorials, presets, instruments, and engineered sounds through many Internet publications. One of the most popular is at the Internets largest computer music website KVR Audio. My preset pack is one of the highest rated and most downloaded preset packages available to date.
Besides programming and sound engineering I also enjoy graphic art and design. I have been dabbling in digital design since Adobe Photoshop 3 (16-bit Windows 3.x). I often create promotional material, logos, and webpage design/layouts for a number of companies, individuals, and groups. As you’ve seen with the design of this site and the other sites listed in my work I’m capable of a wide array of design ranging from vivid and complex to simple and clean.
My Philosophy
My approach to every problem is to analyze the goal and develop an organized plan to solve the problem or situation. I feel that through research, planning, and execution that a proposed solution to any problem can be fulfilled. I also believe that documenting this design and development cycle also allows current and future developers to modify and extend the created solution.
Research is fundamental for finding the technical capabilities and limitations of any information technology problem in its current state. By researching the capabilities of technology you can fulfill the custom need or general need of your target goal. Having knowledge of the technical limitations or work around’s for this technology is as important as understanding its capabilities.
Planning is the most essential part of creating a viable solution to any given need. This phase allows you to use the information gained during the research of the chosen technologies that will be utilized in the creation of the proposed solution. I believe creating a plan for the solution that covers all of the needs and concerns is a great foundation for accomplishing a successful task. This includes documentation of the solutions problem/need, the proposed solution, and technical information regarding the design, construction, and integration of the proposed solution.
Execution is key in launching or integrating software into a new or existing infrastructure. This includes the phases of development, testing, and deployment. These 3 sub phases allow the solution to be created, refined, and streamlined so that a users experience is always first class. In order for a solution to meet its full potential it must be executed properly and with meticulous over site. This over site includes governing of standardization’s in naming, design, functionality, and usability.
I believe that when this philosophy and approach to software design is followed you are always guaranteed to have a great solution to any given need. I try and follow this idea set in my work and I’ve found that it has always allowed me to create outstanding and robust solutions to any of my clients needs.