Staff Profile

I started my career back in South Africa, after emerging battered and bruised from an institution imaginatively named, Computer Skills. I did well amidst the intense rat-race pace of Johannesburg, but I don't miss it. Portland is a healthier blend of social and career. I've been a software developer for over twenty years, working on projects of all sizes, including giant projects costing tens of millions. I used to work in proprietary software, mostly for larger companies, and did all of my volunteer work on the side (Earthlife Africa, literary groups, animal rescue and more). These days I work mostly with open source software and am enjoying my first "actual" (as in paid) nonprofit job.

Parktown Boys High in Johannesburg, South Africa

A trust-fund kid... Failing that,an artist and/or cartoonist. Alternative choices were psychologist or computer programmer. No, really. Well, all except for the "trust-fund kid" part, which was never an option for this inner-city kid.

After two years of mandatory military service I tried to get in to art college, but the competition for spots was very high and I was out of practice. I drew cartoons for a pop music magazine for a time, but the pay was dreadful and I could not make a living at it. I was too crazy to be a psychologist, so I became a programmer instead.

"You are a much more capable person than you think you are. Soon, these torrid times will be just a memory." I might also be tempted to add, "This time, let's see what happens if you become an artist." I might add some relationship advice too.

I was not sporty. I was chairman of the chess club, but I can't say I loved it. I was a voracious reader and loved the local library. I particularly loved Science fiction, which was hard to find in a conservative society, but fortunately my mother had a nice collection. Books would be hard to top. Drawing too. Aside from cartoons, I used to draw the most incredible mazes, which covered 64-page A4 (letter-sized) school books... and their covers. The maze lines were tiny and it could take 20 minutes to get through just one page. Nobody ever solved one of my full-sized mazes. You could follow a dead end for hours, which was admittedly very frustrating. They had holes in the pages to let you jump through pages. None of these mazes survived -- a couple were confiscated by teachers because I was doing them in class -- so all those weeks of effort have no visible legacy.

Since we could afford few albums, it was mostly what was on the radio, so mostly pop. I'm a child of the 80s... and Portland loves the 80s, so I'm all set. Back then in South Africa we had local pop and music from many countries, but also many American favorites. Of my mother's albums, I really took to Harry Belafonte... but only the stuff he sang when he was older and wiser.

...be the first to come up with a clever smartass comment.

That you have to get to know me if you want to get to know me.