Let's see, where to start? I guess the first thing to tell is that I love to write code. I do that by working for myself (again) as an independent consultant and sole proprietor of League Galaxy. As a consultant I spend most of my time on agile-type projects helping companies come to grips with reality. Prior to consulting and League Galaxy I worked for Telligent as a lead developer on their Community Server product. Before joining Telligent I spent three years as an independent consultant, where I helped implement some major projects for various clients, and somewhere in there I was an instructor for DevelopMentor. Before that I worked for five-and-a-half years at Nationwide Insurance in a number of roles on a number of projects of varying degree. And before that it almost doesn't really matter :-)

I'm a fairly passionate person when it comes to writing code, and I've been known to, uh, make my opinions heard from time to time. I've been around long enough now that I know crappy code when I see it, and if you wrote it, be prepared to get called out for it. I strive for simplicity and try to make things better everyday. Pretty straightforward.

On a personal level, I'm married to my wonderful wife Amy and we have three kids: Ethan, Drew, and Emma. The kids keep us unbelievably busy and we're always running around to some activity; it's definitely true that it gets worse as they get older. Added into the mix are two big black dogs: Jackson (black lab-golden retriever mix) and Samantha Jett (pure black lab). We live in the Columbus, OH area and I'm about as diehard an Ohio State fan as you'll find; I even have the tattoo to prove it.

Other random tidbits:

  • I was a Microsoft MVP from 2006-2009. Not sure if or when I'll get that again. Time will tell.
  • If I could grill out all day long I would. That's why I have an apron that says "Keeper of the Flame".
  • My favorite beer is Miller Lite. Go ahead, make fun. You know you drink it too.
  • In keeping with traditional geekdom, I'm freakish about Star Wars.
  • A couple of my favorite techie books are Code Complete by McConnell and Refactoring by Fowler.
  • My original major in college was Actuarial Science, and then I took "Programming in Pascal" as a prerequisite. And here I am.
  • I'm a total Foo Fighters fanboy. I have the tattoo to prove that one also.