---
title: About
layout: default
---

<section>
    <h2>About</h2>

    <p>
        I am a <em>software engineer</em> who enjoys pushing the limits of <em>web technology</em> and applying them to
        <em>business processes</em>. Ideally, my job provides me with technical challenges that need
        <em>well-designed</em> solutions. I have a solid understanding of industry best practices, but I am more
        interested in <em>continuously learning</em> about why they exist and how they can be further <em>applied and
        improved</em>.
    </p>

    <h3>Skill Set</h3>

    <p>
        I am especially familiar with 'cloud' concepts, e-commerce, server administration, and web applications. When
        working on a project, my preferred technologies are Linux, PHP (with symfony2, lately) and JavaScript (node.js,
        especially). Recently I have been able to gain experience and understanding in the following areas:
    </p>

    <dl>
        <dt>languages</dt>
        <dd>
            <a href="https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/#documentation/applescript/conceptual/applescriptx/AppleScriptX.html">applescript</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascading_Style_Sheets">css</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML">html</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JavaScript">javascript</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="http://lesscss.org/">less</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="http://nodejs.org/">node.js</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="http://php.net/">php</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQL">sql</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XML">xml</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XSLT">xslt</a>
        </dd>

        <dt>libraries</dt>
        <dd>
            <a href="http://getcomposer.org/">composer</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="http://www.doctrine-project.org/">doctrine</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="http://mootools.net/">mootools</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="https://github.com/sebastianbergmann/phpunit/">phpunit</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="http://requirejs.org/">require.js</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RPM_Package_Manager">rpm</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="http://swiftmailer.org/">swiftmailer</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="http://symfony.com/">symfony2</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="http://twig.sensiolabs.org/">twig</a>
        </dd>

        <dt>software</dt>
        <dd>
            <a href="http://httpd.apache.org/">apache-httpd</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="http://www.elasticsearch.org/">elasticsearch</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="http://gearman.org/">gearman</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="http://git-scm.com/">git</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="http://jenkins-ci.org/">jenkins</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="http://memcached.org/">memcached</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="http://www.mysql.com/">mysql</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="http://nginx.org/">nginx</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="http://hub.opensolaris.org/bin/view/Project+opengrok/">opengrok</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="http://openvpn.net/">openvpn</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="http://www.oracle.com/us/products/database/overview/index.html">oracle-database</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="https://puppetlabs.com/">puppet</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="http://subversion.tigris.org/">subversion</a>
        </dd>

        <dt>systems</dt>
        <dd>
            <a href="http://centos.org/">centos</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="http://www.linux.org/">linux</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="http://www.apple.com/osx/">osx</a>
        </dd>

        <dt>services</dt>
        <dd>
            <a href="http://aws.amazon.com/">aws</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="https://www.facebook.com/">facebook</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="https://github.com/">github</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="https://www.paypal.com/">paypal</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            <a href="http://www.twilio.com/">twilio</a>
        </dd>
    </dl>

    <h3>Experience</h3>

    <p>
        <strong>Software Developer</strong> &nbsp;&middot;&nbsp; July '09 &ndash; October '12; intern Summer '08<br />
        Sentry Data Systems (<a href="http://www.sentryds.com/">website</a>) &nbsp;&middot;&nbsp; Deerfield Beach, Florida
    </p>

    <ul>
        <li>Guided the adoption of and migration to the open-source symfony2 framework from an internal framework for main customer SaaS web application</li>
        <li>Implemented development tools and standards including opengrok, composer, and PSR-*</li>
        <li>Advised and taught on software design, industry practices, and development workflows</li>
        <li>Created automated systems for detecting data quality issues in client data feeds, significantly reducing manual work</li>
        <li>Created custom issue tracking system to support existing Oracle-based applications, email ticketing, workflows, and time estimations</li>
        <li>Worked locally for 18 months and telecommuted from Colorado for 22 months</li>
    </ul>

    <p style="line-height:14px;padding-top:1px;">
        <small style="color:#666666;">
            composer&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            git&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            html&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            javascript&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            jenkins&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            linux&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            mootools&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            opengrok&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            oracle-database&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            php&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            sql&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            subversion&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            symfony2&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            twig
        </small>
    </p>

    <hr color="#E9E9E9" size="1" style="margin:24px 0 18px;" />

    <p>
        <strong>Software Systems Engineer</strong> &nbsp;&middot;&nbsp; June '06 &ndash; present<br />
        The Loopy Ewe (<a href="https://theloopyewe.com/">website</a>) &nbsp;&middot;&nbsp; Fort Collins, Colorado
    </p>
    
    <ul>
        <li>Developed and currently maintain in-house e-commerce frontend and backoffice tools using primarily PHP and MySQL</li>
        <li>Integrated business tools with APIs including PayPal and Endicia</li>
        <li>Advising on strategic goals for the business and assisting in implementation</li>
        <li>Currently maintain production server environments and services</li>
    </ul>

    <p style="line-height:14px;padding-top:1px;">
        <small style="color:#666666;">
            applescript&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            aws&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            composer&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            css&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            elasticsearch&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            git&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            html&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            javascript&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            linux&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            mootools&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            mysql&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            nginx&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            osx&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            paypal&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            php&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            puppet&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            require.js&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            rpm&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            sql&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            swiftmailer&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            symfony2&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            twig&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            twilio
        </small>
    </p>

    <hr color="#E9E9E9" size="1" style="margin:24px 0 18px;" />

    <p>
        <strong>Student System Administrator</strong> &nbsp;&middot;&nbsp; Spring '06 &ndash; Fall '08<br />
        CSE Department, Taylor University (<a href="http://www.taylor.edu/">website</a>) &nbsp;&middot;&nbsp; Upland, Indiana
    </p>

    <ul>
        <li>Created web-based applications to aid in department processes for faculty and students</li>
        <li>Maintained and provided support for the Computer Science department lab computers and servers (Linux, Windows)</li>
        <li>Acted as contributing editor and webmaster for the department's public website</li>
    </ul>

    <p style="line-height:14px;padding-top:1px;">
        <small style="color:#666666;">
            html&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            linux&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            mysql&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            php&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            sql&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            windows
        </small>
    </p>

    <hr color="#E9E9E9" size="1" style="margin:24px 0 18px;" />

    <p>
        <strong>Network Administrator</strong> &nbsp;&middot;&nbsp; Spring '03 &ndash; Summer '07<br />
        The Covenant Presbyterian Church (<a href="http://www.cpcstl.org/">website</a>) &nbsp;&middot;&nbsp; St. Louis, Missouri
    </p>

    <ul>
        <li>Created, maintained, and hosted their website CMS during employment and until 2010</li>
        <li>Provided technical support (on-site, phone, and email) to ministry staff</li>
        <li>Managed Microsoft Windows and Exchange servers, internal ministry applications, and other productivity software</li>
    </ul>

    <p style="line-height:14px;padding-top:1px;">
        <small style="color:#666666;">
            css&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            exchange&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            html&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            linux&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            mysql&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            php&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            sql&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            windows&nbsp;&nbsp;&middot;&nbsp;
            windows-server
        </small>
    </p>

    <h3>Education</h3>

    <ul>
        <li><a href="http://www.taylor.edu/">Taylor University</a> &ndash; Bachelor of Science (2005 - 2009) &ndash; Computer Science, Systems (Business Information Systems)</li>
        <li><a href="http://www.wcastl.org/">Westminster Christian Academy</a> &ndash; high school (2001 - 2005)</li>
    </ul>
</section>