Ososoft, LLC

In 2015, I moved my family to Newnan, Georgia, for a job with (arguably) the most rabid advocates for agile methodolgies, test-driven development, and pair programming — Thoughtworks, Inc. At that time, it was easier to let my Alabama LLC lapse and start a new company than to transfer the entity to Georgia. Ososoft is the vehicle by which I do all my contract work these days.

Thoughtworks, Inc

I loved my first stint with Thoughtworks in 2015, but I didn’t love the 100% travel. When they contacted me to return to a 100% remote culture, I jumped at the chance. Of all the places I’ve worked, I’ve never learned more than I have during my time with this company. Under their umbrella, I wrote apps in Java, .NET, JavaScript, and Microsoft technologies specifically tailored to the development of chatbots including their brand of NLP, LLM, and OpenAI; and later to include MSFT’s Dynamics 365 CRM.

eSA, Inc

I was fortunate enough to work with a great team of developers, writing logistical applications for the Air Force in Java and related technologies.

AL Dept. of Ed.

At the AL Department of Education, my team was brought in to implement a system for processing the issuance and renewal of teaching certificates. The process was paper-based and it could take as much as 9 months to get a certificate issued or renewed. We were able to radically rework their process, distribute the work load to the field agents, and automate the workflows so that the 9-month process could be completed in around 5 minutes. From application, to payment, to digital issuance of the certificates — Certification Specialists were able to focus their time on exceptional cases (like failed background checks, or missing continuing education credits).

TicketBiscuit, LLC

I got a call from a programming buddy asking if I wanted to play a role in their startup venture. They were building a business to fill in the gaps left by giants in the area of ticket sales and servicing. Think TicketMaster, EventBright, LiveNation, … but at a much smaller scale. I managed a small team of developers and made the architectural decisions for new tech. I also got to keep my hands in the code, which has always been a requirement of mine.

Codetopia, LLC

While working for Regions bank, I managed a few contract software developers in addition to my regular duties as the software architect. I became friends with the contractors and decided that I would like to give working for myself a go. With no savings, no prospective clients, and no plan, I left my W2 and stepped into the 1099 world. I never went without work. My only marketing was by word of mouth.

Regions Bank

At Regions, I started out as a programmer in VB6, VB.NET, C#, Java, and C/C++. A couple of mergers later and I was leading the architecture side of the house. I met many strong developers, many of whom I still call my friends.

Microsoft

I was using Java since the time it was in beta, so I was a great fit for the Visual J++ team at Microsoft. In those days, MSFT was pushing the concept of managed code, rooted in the Java language. Then the Sun lawsuit hit and MSFT decided to pivot to creating their own managed code tools and languages. I was using C# before it was released to the general public. In fact, I trained the Java developers on migrating to C#. Shortly thereafter, I landed my dream job — as a Programmer/Writer on the original Xbox team. Once the console launched, I moved over to the Visual Studio .NET team, as an SDET on the performance team.

IBM

I started with IBM as a multimedia programmer (yes, that was a thing) working in a technology called Icon Author, and I transitioned to a web developer around the time Java was coming into its own as a client-side web technology. In addition to Java, I wrote kiosks, screen savers, and the plumbing for internet-connnected applications (like World Book Encyclopedia) in C/C++.

Interactive Entertainment

I was fortunately in the right place at the right time to land a job as the Technical Director for a CD-ROM-based, monthly gaming magazine. It was billed as, “the only gaming magazine that stays crispy in milk!” At the time, multimedia programming was a new tech, building on the recenly-introduced software-only video playback. Seeing the ultra HD streaming services of today, it’s amazing how far we’ve come.

University of Alabama

I was the senior developer on a for-profit arm of the university that was combining tech with their amazing group of content creators to make a CBT for high school and college-level Mathematics concepts.

U.S. Steel

My first professional programming gig found me working on applications that were much older than me. COBOL was the language of the job, but I was able to create several apps (including one for inventory management) in Pascal, backed by DBase.

University of Alabama

With a bit of professional experience in programming, and a new job at the U of A, I made the trek to Tuscaloosa to major in Computer Science with a minor in Mathematics. It was here that I met and married my much, much better half. After four years of college, I kept getting better and better jobs. I did not graduate.

University of Montevallo

I graduated high school in 1990. I never planned to go to college. My parents didn’t. Their parents didn’t. But, I was able to land a music scholarship that would take me through my first two weeks as a Music major. I didn’t really want to be a performer or a director, but I was pretty good at playing the trombone and baritone. Once on campus, I was offered a Math scholarship, so I immediately switched majors and selected Computer Science as my minor. In the first two years, I completed the senior level courses in the CS department and found that I had a passion for it. I moved on to the University of Alabama to major in CS and minor in Math. I did not graduate.

XNA Game
Studio Express

XNA Game Studio Express: Developing Games for Windows and the Xbox 360 is the ultimate resource for hobbyists and students who want to write games for Windows and the Xbox 360 game console. Learn how you can create your own games using these free game development tools and APIs from Microsoft, based on the incredibly popular Visual Studio IDE. You’ll begin with an introduction to the XNA platform and the Game Studio Express development environment. From there, you’ll examine many different game genres to develop your own working games from scratch. To get the most out of this unique guide you will need a working knowledge of programming, but readers with a variety of backgrounds will still benefit from the comprehensive coverage found inside.

Fauxcabulary

Fauxcabulary: Fake Definitions. Real Funny. is a collection of terrible puns by a self-avowed word nerd. If you’re looking for a humorous tome that you can pick up and put down on a whim, you need this title on the back of your toilet. The rules for this collection of puns are simple.

1. The words are real.
2. The definitions are fake.
3. The hilarity is optional.

Secret Clearance

For my stint with eSA, where I worked on code for the Air Force, I needed Secret Clearance. In 2021, I had a similar background check run for my work on Veterans Affairs (va.gov) systems.

MCSD .NET

At one point, I wanted to be a trainer of software developers in the corporate space. I obtained all my certifications through the MCT, but never actually taught a course. I did, however lead the training for several of my programming gigs, and I taught high school students how to program video games for several summers between 2011 and 2018.