History
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| from | to | what |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 1972 | In 1972 I wrote FOCAL-69 code on a PDP-8/L, but I misunderstood the line-numbering system and none of my programs worked right. (The lapse seems understandable given that I was only 8.) I did successfully learn how to manually enter the bootstrap code using the front-panel switches, however, and was able to load programs from punched-tape without assistance. |
| 1975 | 1975 | In 1975, 5th grade, I wrote artistic graphics software in BASIC on a Tektronix 4051. I still have many of the plot-outs. |
| 1983 | 1985 | From 1983 to 1985 I did computer hardware setups / testing / evaluation / shipping in my mom's computer store (and also packing and shipping for awhile). I learned how to program the video chip registers on a Hercules Graphics Card card and wrote a screensaver-like program for it in debug.com (using 8088 assembly code). Also using debug.com, I wrote a short program which made an unusual sound on the PC speaker; our salesmen used it to get people's attention at presentations.
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| 1985.10 | 1989.12 | From 1985 to 1989 -- my first real, non-family job -- I worked as a coder and lab assistant for Dr. Russel M. Church in the Brown University Department of Psychology. I started out writing in DEC FORTRAN IV on a dot-matrix teletype, soon graduated to a video terminal, was upgraded to FORTRAN 77, and eventually persuaded Dr. Church to bring in a PC and Turbo Pascal. I wrote software for data analysis (spreadsheets were not yet widely known) and running experiments, as well as both ends of a program (including the communication protocol) to transfer files between the old DEC mini system and the new PC over a serial cable, loosely based on Kermit (which we had, but which didn't seem to work). The work wasn't super-exciting, but it was dependable and engaging.
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| 1990.01 | 1991.09 | From 1990 to 1991, I worked for the late great Dr. Frank Borchardt at Duke University's Humanities Computing Facility doing language-related neural network (NN) simulations (mentioned here; paper). Having found existing NN software packages opaque, buggy, inflexible, and difficult to use, I wrote my own NN trainer in Borland Pascal and ASM86. Although the simulator worked well by mid-1991, developing it at that stage was probably a mistake; I should have been focusing on more prosaic efforts to produce positive results. I severely overestimated the level of "research" that was wanted / expected. In retrospect, although I learned a lot of interesting stuff about neural networks, I probably should have stayed in Providence and not taken this job. (Also: Frank was a great guy, but notoriously difficult to work for.)
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| 1991.10 | 1997 | From 1991 to 1997, I was living in poverty in Athens, GA, having arrived right at the beginning of a recession and consequent hiring freeze at UGA (source of most computer-related work in the area). I did eventually get work there, at $5/hour, doing image processing in Visual C and data manipulation in Borland Pascal. (Object Pascal was, at the time, as much of a strength for me as PHP is now, with C++ a close second.) I also spent a lot of time pursuing independent software projects (including further development on the neural network program), but was unable to make much headway due to the chaotic work environment. Being a glutton for punishment, I was also trying to start a business... actually, I tried to start one business (recording studio), and was persuaded to start another one (online store for independent musicians) which then morphed into another one (online store selling mostly mass-produced t-shirts), but that's another story.
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| 1997.08 | 1998.10.19 | From 1997 to 1998, I worked for Pierce Manufacturing in Appleton, WI. They had issues, and I learned a great deal about how not to run a software project.
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| 1999.11.05 | 2001.06.14 | From 1999 through early 2001, I worked for Carrier Transicold in Athens, GA doing Visual Basic database work (MS Access, MSSQL) documenting and designing business process software. Fortunately, their IT department had a much better understanding of software development than Pierce did, and we got a lot of good work done.
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| 2002 | 2008 | From approximately 2002 through 2008, I was reworking VbzCart and writing the beginnings of the application framework which later became Ferreteria while also suing my former business associates.
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| 2003.03.29 | 2003.09.23 | For a few months in 2003, I did some additional consulting for Carrier handling the help desk on site so Ed could take a long-deferred vacation and then doing a little VB work remotely (from Durham).
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| 2009 | 2013 | From approximately 2009 through 2013, coding work ground to a near-halt as multiple family crises diverted all of my focus-time. I finally had to mothball the store in 2011 when part of the checkout process broke. From 2010 to the present I did occasional office-network and web site support for Sage & Swift, a Durham catering company. From 2011 through 2014, I managed to squeeze in some semi-regular web site back-end (PHP/MySQL) work for Swashbuckler Interactive, a small web design/development company then located in Durham (now moved to Colorado).
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| 2018.05 | 2019.02 | From May 2018 to February 2019, I worked remotely on PHP code for PaperDemon, an art-sharing web site and community. That work stopped when the owner decided to quit her job at Google to work on PD full-time, and could no longer afford to hire additional coders. |
| 2023.04 | 2024... | In April 2023, I began working part-time at One Simple Wish as a PHP coder for their web-site rewrite. I ended up also working on the existing web site and helping with devops in general. |