Profile

I always have been and always will be a scientist. I really enjoy finding some sense of reason in what would otherwise appear to be chaos. My strength in understanding complex systems is my ability to break the system down in to smaller, more manageable and hence more understandable sub-systems. It has always seemed odd to others that a student of biology would opt for a career in the computer sciences; moving from the beach to the boardroom. I have always felt that there was a deep similarity in the inner-workings between the not-so-well understood natural systems and the well understood computer systems. In the natural systems, plants and animals perform actions for a reason. This reason can only be surmised based on an exhaustive evaluation of patterns produced by those actions. I have spent much of my time in life sciences developing tools and models in an attempt to understand these patterns. In my involvement with the testing of military digital communications, I noted that these computer systems were also not well understood. Neither the tester nor the developer really understood the full scope of its systems interaction. I continued to develop tools in an attempt to understand these systems and the tools soon became the focus of my software development. In the course of my career I have had the opportunity to watch others grow financially, educationally and professionally. My growth has always been internally motivated. I have always prided myself on my ability to accept, understand and solve engineering challenges. I learn best when I "do". Over the years, I have developed many diverse software systems in an effort to address some of these real-world engineering problems. These systems ranged in scope from a point of sale distributed parts counter system to a real-time remote telemetry data collection system monitoring an Army tactical radio network. My career in defense communications testing has forced me to move farther from the pure science and more toward production oriented engineering. My software development strategy attempts to address all aspects of the production life cycle. This cradle-to-grave approach to systems development has forced me to use homebrewed and otherwise Ad Hoc development methodologies. Most of my systems have started with the phrase, "I think it can be done". I have lately been production oriented, enjoying the engineering effort only as long as I knew there was a finished product in sight. I am somewhat of a creative person using the computer software to express myself in ways others would use canvas or musical instruments. I take pride in the systems that I develop and often embellish and rework areas of the code that are unseen by others and non-critical to the overall systems performance. I take pride in my work and strive to show my work to others.

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