You might have seen my lurking around on #Daniweb while I am at work. I thought I'd give you an idea who was behind that tongue-twisted nick.
I go by "J", for reasons that are mostly historical. I suppose you could say at this point that I'm growing back into my full name. But I'm not using it yet. I'm 35 and getting back into life. ( 'Why' is another long story.. )
I've had a thing with computers since before middle school, in fact, it was a computer that helped me understand how to relate to my peers.... ( yet another long story. )
I got a my first real job at a picture frame company because I was I thought I might be 'good' with computers. In reality, I was playing a card that I didn't know if I could back. It had been years since I played with BASIC on a 256K Color Computer III. Well, it turned out to be one of the best values the company ever got in an employee. I took the job of data entry, did the work, and then found Visual Basic for Applications lurking within their office software. I exploited it, using it to create programs that translated different combinations of symbols into alpha characters (turning alpha-numeric entry into pure number pad entry, and making it impossible for the person that prepared the orders to keep up with the data entry), and then a program that would store the orders, for when the system was down, giving me more time to learn Visual Basic... until I found myself in a position where I was responsible for generating a key financial report which used a primitive language that I created for the purpose of extracting data from reports, and running mass manipulation programs.. and then realized that I could probably make more than $11.75/hour.
I don't normally talk about myself like this, I'm just feeling excitable tonight, for some reason. Although that was the only job (until I got the one that I have now) where there was really a lot of room to shine, I found that this kind of thing was a trend. I like to play with technology, and I'm pretty much off the charts creatively. ( I generally don't think inside of a box because i never learned how to make one. ) The result is that I end up creating something that is unexpectedly useful at a time when it comes in very much handy. My next job was working with Visual Basic 5, telephony, and voice recognition. ( A .dot .com, that yes, .dot .died ), and after that, I landed a job doing Java 2 development -- both Swing and back end components and a telecom company ( That, yes, was the next segment to die. ), and then I started getting into Linux, where I worked as a system-admin, poorly paid software developer and make-everything-happen kind of guy. And then I got employed at where I'm working now. I no longer have admin responsibility for Windows' machines, but I get to play set up Linux servers, and also a Python developer. They have all kinds of technology there, hardware and software, and they like to do at least try to 'do the right thing' when making software. Career-wise, I couldn't have found a better match. They are spoiling me there. I don't want to work with anything else anymore...
But all of that: programming, software development, a little bit of web development, system administration for Windows systems, system administration for Linux systems, making disparate systems talk to each other, and automating repetitive tasks -- the past, and the present technological aspect of myself, that which I literally thought was everything that I was, is now just a day-job.
In the time when I choose not to work, I delve deep into ancient philosophy, trying to get a better understanding of what man is supposed to be, and what I can be, and how I get there. I consider myself agnostic, and don't believe that I could be Christian even if I believed in everything Christian, due to the underlying flaws of man. But something strives to understand, and to be everything that I can.
When my brain just can't handle any more thoughts, I put my body through its paces. I've found the wii+fit instructor to be a formidable foe: versed in Yoga, strength training, divining exactly how poorly I can balance myself, and the fine art of lying. I also like to climb, and I just found some bike "paths" not too far from home.
You probably can't tell by reading this, but I suffer from a painful shyness that I work hard to overcome. I can suspend it, from time-to-time, but I seem to emit a vibe that keeps people at a distance. I think I developed it during my last relationship, but I'm not sure how to turn it off, now that it's not needed.
Anything else I can pack into here? I'm a Pisces, with a Capricorn moon, and Leo ascending. :p And a pretty strange combination of things that shouldn't seem to coexist.
Pleased to meet everyone here! :)
-- Cogz (J)
