thedar

About "The DAR"

I have been fascinated by computers and technology for as long as I can remember. I got my first computer in middle school and was absolutely enthralled by a game called "Gorillas" (written in QBASIC), in which 2 large apes hurl exploding bananas at each other from opposing city rooftops. Needless to say, QBASIC was the first programming language I ever used. Awesome! B)

I grew up in New Jersey and earned my Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Rutgers University in May 1999. Since then I've worked as an IT consultant for many Fortune 500 clients. Beginning in 2001, I have split my time between Connecticut (home) and New York City (work).

In my spare time, I am an avid tennis player and a gym rat (though I spend most of my time on the elliptical machine). I have a lifetime addiction to Science Fiction and Mystery novels. On occasion, I am known to enjoy playing boardgames like Charades, Taboo, and Risk (which of course is the original game of global domination). I am a member of Mensa, though I really don't feel that much smarter than anyone else. My latest hobby is watching BBC adaptations of classic novels.

Open Source Moments

My first exposure to the "open source" software movement came in 2004, when months of frustration with Internet Explorer culminated in a breakthrough moment: installing Mozilla Firefox. Firefox was a great product to start with: fast, stable, and easy to use. But over the following years, I was amazed at how much and how quickly the product improved. Despite the strong support of a certain cash-rich software behemoth which I will not name here, Internet Explorer just could not keep up.

In mid-2008, I decided that I wanted to finally get away from the Microsoft hegemony once and for all by jumping on the Linux bandwagon. After some research, I found that Ubuntu was the best distribution in terms of what I was looking for. My experience with Ubuntu so far has been fabulous (even the upgrade from Gutsy to Hardy went smoothly). So after having used Ubuntu for a good long while, it suddenly hit me that all this great software didn't come free (well it was free but a lot of people did a lot of work to make it all happen). So I joined the Ubuntu team and officially became in Ubuntero in early 2009.

Professional Experience

I have worked in the IT industry for 10 years as a "consultant". Of course we all know that "consultant" can mean just about anything. So here is a brief (and by no means complete) list of my project highlights:

  • Delivered a global business intelligence platform using Business objects.
  • Created java-based Map-Reduce programs to process large datasets in a computing cloud.
  • Implemented a real estate "comps" (comparables) system using Crystal Reports.
  • Produced an OLAP budgeting tool based on Oracle Financial Analyzer.
  • Designed and optimized several multi-TB data warehouses using Sybase and Oracle.
  • Developed custom software and utilities using Perl and Java.

My professional experience encompasses stints as a software developer, data analyst, system architect, business analyst, and project manager. I have spent the majority of my career working on Windows and Unix environments (with the exception of my involvement with the Apache Software Foundation which primarily relied on GNU/Linux).

Random Ruminations

Isaac Asimov, Laws of Robotics from I. Robot, 1950

  1. A robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

  2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

  3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.

I am deeply intrigued by the prospects for humanity in this new millennium. I think technology will allow mankind to solve a lot of very old, intractable problems and perhaps even change the nature of our existence. Along the same general vein of thought, I am also a firm believer in the concept of The Technological Singularity.

Contact Me

IRC: Junowat on "irc.freenode.net"
Email: Launchpad Email
On the Internet:


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thedar (last edited 2009-02-12 15:31:38 by 24-151-31-251)