To continue to develop amazing web software that makes people drop their jaw in wonderment.
I have considerable experience in UI design, Interactive TV, Computer Graphics, Computer Music and
various "Web 2.0" technologies. I am proficient in Flash/Actionscript, PHP, Javascript, Perl, Java, C++, Python and numerous
other languages. Unlike many developers who specialize in one principal technology, I prefer working with
a few different technologies simultaneously, and discovering interesting ways of mashing things up.
You can see some software I've written at Krazydad.com and
Coverpop.com, which was listed in the Wall Street Journal's "Best of Web 2.0".
Senior Front End Developer - Yahoo! Music, 2006 - Present
I've been working with a great team of front-end developers on Y! Music's home pages. Early on,
I created a tool for generating numerous kinds of buttons with anti-aliased text, using GD, so that we
could internationalize the pages more easily. I developed a new music lyrics site, creating a secure renderer for lyric
content, and took over the upcoming concerts pages. I'm the sole Flash developer on the team, so
I also maintain the various Flash "jumbotrons" on the site. For the past year I've been using my
mashup skills to specialize in off-network apps for Facebook, Bebo and MySpace. I implemented Y!
Music's Music Video application for Facebook.
Author - O'Reilly, Inc, 2005 - present
I am the coauthor of the book Flickr Hacks (I wrote the more technically demanding chapters
involving Perl, PHP and Flash coding) and the author of Building Tag Clouds in Perl and PHP.
Part Time Instructor, Art Center, 2000 - present
I teach one or two evening and weekend classes each semester. I'm currently teaching beginning and advanced Flash classes.
I've also taught classes in video game design, digital audio, Lego robotics and multimedia interface design.
Website Proprietor, 1996 - present
I blog and publish puzzles at Krazydad.com, and generate income from a small collection of personal
websites, including Krazydad.com, Coverpop.com, jbum.com.
Principal Software Engineer, Aptiv Digital, 1998 - 2006
Aptiv, a software provider for Interactive Television, was formerly Pioneer Digital Technologies.
I worked on Interactive TV / Settop box application design and coding. I worked here continuously
except for a two year stint at Pittard Sullivan. I was often assigned to spearhead new products,
which were then passed off to other programmers after a one to two year incubation process.
Part Time Consultant, 2001 - 2006
I developed one-off C++/OpenGL and Flash applications for various clients, mostly marketing firms.
I also construct puzzles for various publications, including three books of puzzles for Ulysses
press.
Technologist, Pittard Sullivan, 2000 - 2001
I did technical consulting for various Interactive TV design projects. I implemented a
template-driven website generator, a Perl library for modifying and generating dynamic
Flash movies, and a graphics language for rendering procedural textures.
Chief Technical Officer, The Palace, 1996 1998
I created this company's main product, The Palace, which is an Internet client/server
system for creating entertaining virtual worlds with avatars. The Palace, which debuted
in November of 1995 while it was still under the aegis of Time Warner, is considered a
milestone product in this area, and has been the most successful graphical virtual
world software to date, according to Jupiter Communications. The Palace introduced
numerous innovations for graphical chat software, including customizeable avatars,
cheap easily-distributed servers, and a scripting language.
Producer & Lead Programmer, Time Warner Interactive, 1991 - 1995
In 1991, I designed and implemented the multimedia CD-ROM authoring system,
"Idaho," which replaced HyperCard as the in-house authoring system for
this company's CD-ROM products. "Idaho" was the forerunner of
"Archangel." which was the principal authoring tool for Time Warner
Cable's Full Service Network project in Orlando Florida. "Idaho" was a HyperCard-like authoring system that supported color,
menu-driven scripting, CD-ROM playback and real-time control of various multimedia data types.
Titles under my technical supervision that shipped include Time Magazine Desert Storm,
The View From Earth, Sports Illustrated Almanac, Funny, Seven Days in August (MacWorld's
best CD-ROM of the year) and How Computers Work. (MacUser Editor's Choice).
I produced the title Visions of Mars , a CD-ROM time-capsule which was launched
to the Planet Mars aboard a Russian spacecraft in 1996. When the company split into two
parts (Interactive TV and Entertainment), I became chief technologist for the Entertainment division.