From the start: I’m a grumpy old man. Deal with it!

Beyond the grumpiness ….

I am a qualified accountant from Australia who moved into the world of Data Processing in the early 1980s. I have been using PC’s for most of that time, and xBase since 1984; CA-Clipper since 1985. I have been consulting in the PC world since 1986, with projects completed for major Australian insurance companies and banks as well as for government entities, and businesses large and small. I’ve also conducted training courses in Australia, Europe and the USA for dBase III, dBase IV, Clipper, Visual Objects and ReportPro.I have worked as a senior CA-Clipper analyst/programmer for a major US winery, and out of Dallas Texas for Rent Roll Inc, a manufacturer of vertical market software for the real estate industry.

 

I’m now back in Sydney Australia, doing software development for a number of clients using various tools including C#, VB, Visual Studio.Net, MS SQL, LAMP Stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP), MS Access, VO, and Clipper.

I am a co-author of the SAMS publication CA-Visual Objects Developer’s Guide, and I have also had articles published in Clipper Advisor, VO Advisor and VO Developer Magazines, as well as numerous user group publications. I’ve spoken at numerous Technicons and DevCons in New Orleans and San Diego USA, Birmingham UK, Cologne Germany, and Melbourne Australia, as well as to users groups in the USA, Europe and Australia.

I’m a past president and vice-president of the Desktop Database Developers Group in Sydney, and have also been the president and vice-president of the Dallas Software Developers Association, and the Gallo Clipper Users group.

I’m also a veteran user of palmtop devices, such as the USR Palm Pilot and Windows CE Pocket PCs. Today, that interest has expanded into devices like Apple’s iPhone and iPad, and a variety of Android powered devices as well.

Years ago, I suggested “If you’ve not yet had an opportunity to look at these sorts of device, I strongly suggest that you try to do so. As a software developer I can see a great deal of potential in this type of pocket size computer, and I am currently starting to develop applications that will accept input from a Pilot, and will seamlessly update a corresponding database held on a PC.”. Today, this class of device is the hottest technology in terms of user desirability.

I live in Sydney, in the beachside suburb of Bondi.
My hobbies include music (jazz, blues and classical), photography, computing, motor sports, Italian cars (I have owned a number of Alfa Romeos through the years, and in Dallas I was also the owner of a 1985 Maserati Biturbo), cooking, sushi, theatre, and generally being a larrikin. 

I play bass – upright and electric – and I currently present a number of different radio shows on Sydney’s 2RDJ-FM 88.1.