Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Probably every developer has written a “Hello World” program when learning a new tool. So, since I am new at blogging, this is my version.

About Me

I have been in the IT business for over 20 years. I got the bug when my parents purchased a Texas Instruments TI 99/4A computer when I was 14 or 15 years old. I wrote several BASIC programs, but got frustrated when I couldn't save them. At the time, the only storage mechanism was an external tape drive and it cost more than the computer. When I was a senior in High School, they offered a BASIC programming class on the old Radio Shack TRS-80. I loved it!! I was totally hooked and knew what my career was going to be from then on.

After graduation I attended Cincinnati Technical College (now Cincinnati State Technical and Community College) and co-oped at Cincinnati Gas and Electric (now Duke Energy). I was hired as a full-time computer operator after completing my degree. I worked in operations for 3 years before getting the opportunity to move into development and network support. During this time I also finished by Bachelor's degree at the University of Cincinnati, go 'Cats! I programmed in dBASE III and Clipper Summer of '87, creating several line of business applications for the marketing department. I also designed, deployed, and supported 50 desktops and 3 Novell Netware networks. I became the first Certified Netware Engineer at CG&E. After spending a total of 10 years there, I got the opportunity to grow professionally as a consultant. I spent several years developing PowerBuilder applications and working with Microsoft SQL Server databases. I then moved to Microsoft Consulting Services and spent 7 years working for a wonderful company. I had several positions starting as a SQL Server Consultant, then a Resource Manager and finally an Engagement Manager. The excessive travel became too much for my family, and I moved to my current position as an Application Development Manager. I currently manage a team of developers focusing on C# and SQL Server 2005 applications while utilizing Scrum to manage them.

What Can You Expect From This Blog

I have an interest in .NET, SQL Server, Agile Development, Scrum, Linux, and technology in general. I will attempt to blog on a weekly basis on at least one of these topics and may expand as my interests grow.

Thanks, and hopefully you will find this blog interesting and useful.

Britt