WHO I AM
Hi.
I’m Scott. That’s me over on the right. I ride bicycles, play video games, like dogs, and build websites. Not always in that order. I’m also an absolute jedi with a slow-cooker. I do not, to the best of my knowledge, fight crime.
WHAT I DO
I build thingamajigs for the internet. Websites, applications, widgets, gadgets, microsites, and pretty much anything else imaginable. It seems that most of my work involves grabbing various things by the scruff of the neck and dragging them, kicking and screaming, to where I want them to go. Some days this is JavaScript, other days this is a person from the Creative department.
I like to decide what I want to accomplish and then tell a specific tool (the aforementioned JavaScript or Designer, or something else altogether) to do what I’ve already decided needs to be done. Too often I see this process done in the exact opposite way, where someone lets their tools determine their output. I prefer to stretch the boundaries of what can be possible and then stretch my tools (be they JavaScript, PHP, Excel, or the person in the desk next to me) to achieve the goal I’ve already set.
WHAT I USE
There are a few technologies that I focus on. They are, in no particular order:
- XHTML
- CSS
- JavaScript
- JS Frameworks (Prototype/Scriptaculous, Mootools, jQuery, YUI, etc.)
- PHP
- MySQL
- XML
I’m also pretty handy with some major-market software packages: Adobe CS3, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Windows, and Apple Mac OS X for instance.
Lately I’ve been quite taken with emerging and social media platforms. The Twitter API fascinates me, as does the Apple iPhone.
WHERE I USE THEM
Right now I’m employed as a Web Developer by Critical Mass, a humble little shop that works for some pretty impressive clients. In the last year, I’ve had the opportunity to work for most of them, even getting to spend a little time on airplanes while traveling to meet some of them.
In the last 4 years, I've also taught various web-related classes at NAIT in Edmonton, been a Senior Web Developer/Team Lead at another agency in Calgary, and been a Communications Director at a large Seattle Presbyterian church.