| USPS: | 6107 Orchard Avenue Richmond California 94804 |
| Phone: | 510-237-4554 |
| Email: | bear@sonic.net |
I earned a BA degree in Computer Science from the University of Kansas in 1995. While there I concentrated on Expert Systems, mathematics, and computer science theory. More recently I have taken computer courses at the University of California in Berkeley, mainly to stay current and add new programming languages.
From October 1 1997 to January 6 2003, I worked at NativeMinds, in San Francisco. I started by learning the in-house scripting language defined by their server product, then implemented natural-language agents using that language. I also worked on the server product itself, designing and implementing new features and capabilities, and developed libraries in the scripting language for sentence analysis. I have one patent issued as a result of original design work on that product, and another is currently in process. As the company expanded, I mentored a half-dozen new content developers, training them in the use of the scripting language and server - then I shifted to Quality Assurance. In QA, I became the administrator of the Rational Suite of tools and its attendant databases, implemented a new bug-tracking schema in Rational Clearquest, integrated Clearquest with email, implemented automated regression testing for our software using Rational Robot, and took over as buildmaster in order to get instrumented builds so that we could use the Purify and Pure Coverage tools from Rational. As my QA role expanded, I became the facilitator in charge of the weekly Software Change Control Board meetings, where we decided what to do about bugs and feature requests and how to implement the goals of marketing and product management for the next release. In the last year I spent there, we produced and QA'd eight software releases, each with substantial new features.
From April 1997 to October 1997, I worked as a contractor for IMSI company, then of San Rafael California, the makers of TurboCad. They needed me to set up a bug-tracking system and act temporarily as head of QA, while they trained their own employee to take over after I left. While there I implemented a bug-tracking database using Microsoft Access, created bug-report forms and webpages powered by CGI and perl, enabled web access to the company's bug database, and started training end users and sales people to operate the new bug tracking system.
From April 1996 to April 1997, I worked for Brightware, then of Novato, California. While there, I learned the in-house variant of LISP which was the scripting language for their Art*Enterprise Product and implemented expert systems using that language for several customers. Next, I was shifted to engineering since proficiency with that dialect of LISP was short, and developed libraries in it for such tasks as analyzing input and reading and formatting HTML. After that, I was shifted to QA, and became the head of QA for my last three months there.
Prior to my graduation, I worked for two years as a data entry typist for Woodward Publications, Inc. then of Lawrence Kansas, and for one year as a contract programmer (using BASIC) for Accountants Data Systems, then of Wichita Kansas.
Mainstream Programming Languages:
C, C++, Pascal, Scheme (a LISP dialect), Common Lisp, Perl, BASIC, various shell scripting languages.
Other programming Languages:
Neuroscript (NativeMinds), Art*Script(Brightware/Mindbox), CLIPS, Prolog (Academic)
Formatting Languages:
HTML, Roff, TeX
Products:
Word, Access, Excel, Rational ClearQuest, Rational ClearCase, Rational Robot, LoadRunner, Emacs, GIMP, Linux, UNIX, Windows, many others.
Subjects of proficiency:
Software QA, Software Design, Cryptography, Natural Language Processing, Expert Systems, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science Theory, Mathematics.
Patents:
6,314,410, System and method of identifying the context of a statement made to a virtual robot. (This is a system I designed for resolving pronouns in NLP systems while working at NativeMinds.)
Professional:
Coordinator of IEEE working committee 1178 (Scheme programming Language), 2001-2002. Member IACR, IEEE, Mensa.
I have a talent for reading technical manuals and low-level documentation for most products and then being able to use it for given tasks. Having done so, I can generally understand and explain both its high-level function and low-level operation. Because text speaks to me much more clearly than graphics, I benefit from sources of information that most people have difficulty with.
I communicate well with both engineers and nontechnical staff, and have been generally good at coordinating teams of up to six people.
Hobbies and Interests: In my free time, I write fiction, software, and games. I also enjoy sailing my sailboat on San Francisco Bay, and have environmental interests. I am intensely interested in copyright, privacy, and ethical issues arising from the current use of computers.