Need help?

If you've gotten here and need UNIX help, there are several UNIX/Internet resources on the web here at DePaul that can help you. If you're still completely stumped, then call the help desk at extension 8765 (312-362-8765). Please email me only as a last resort, as these resources can help you quicker than I can.

Why this exists:

I have a personal home page that I don't update with any regular frequency at MCSNet, but that doesn't tell you what I do here at DePaul, so that's what this page will do.

What I do:

I've been working for DePaul since 1994, and while I started as a Windows application developer, I greatly prefer my current duties as the main UNIX System Administrator and Systems Programmer, a position I share with Rick Cruz.

What I like doing:

While working at DePaul, I've accomplished many things, and are fairly proud of them. Some of my "neato" accomplishments include:

• Defining and writing policies for computing resources at DePaul
• Co-developed client-server Microsoft Access applications with Oracle as the back-end server
• Worked heavily with cross-platform video codecs, including real-time streaming video (video is cool)
• Installed and upgraded web servers, UNIX operating systems, and proprietary UNIX and Intel hardware (gotta love those mainframes... :-)
• Designed and implemented custom web applications (including two search engines) and layouts/schemes (fun, but not as important as the applications)

What I do anyway:

Of course, there's a lot of stuff that I do every single day/week/month that isn't so neato (read: mundane), including:

• Learn mainframe commands, technologies, and procedures
• Fix and install printers and print queues
• Adding user accounts (do not confuse this with helping users, which I enjoy)
• Installing and maintaining Oracle databases

I have a good deal of fun working here most days. It's challenging, but the rewards are usually worth it--helping people makes me feel good about myself.

Personal and Professional Opinions: (I'll try not to fall off my soapbox)

• No platform--Windows, Macintosh, UNIX--is any better than the other. Microsoft is not evil, and Macs don't suck. They each have their place; just don't misuse them. For example, you don't use Windows for action games and you don't use a Mac for business software. And you don't use UNIX for either purpose, but to be fair, how many simultaneous users does Windows or System 7.5 support? (None. :-)
• When developing web pages, keep your target audience in mind. Flashy graphics don't impress anyone if your target audience is home users with modems and the page takes over a minute to download at 3K a second (28,800 kbps modem). And if you want the widest possible audience, try to stay away from goofy Netscape tags, like frame or embed; frames just confuse people, and embed only works with Netscape--simply providing a link to the file works and is much more compatible. This goes for Java stuff too--it's actually much easier to play a sound file with standard HTML than it is with JAVA (just include a link to the sound file and let the client browser handle it, which is what you're supposed to do anyway)! This page, for example, uses no Netscape tags whatsoever--not even the <center> tag. Please note that I'm not anti-Netscape; I just think it's stupid to limit your target audience needlessly.
• Try to use logical styles instead of physical styles when creating web pages, because logical styles can be personalized by the client browser, but physical styles cannot. If you need more general info on what I'm talking about, a Beginner's Guide to HTML can help you.
• When writing HTML, don't ever refer to the web page itself. It is incredibly tacky to write things like "Click here to download!". "Click" is not a verb. And using "here" goes against every reason why the Web was created in the first place (hypertext links to other documents). Think about it. It's either a web page, or an application--not both.

Trivia about me:

• Melissa and I have three cats in our apartment, as well as a cute little boy.
• I write demos in Borland Pascal and assembly language. I've even won 3rd place in a competition with a demo called Explicit.
• I don't purchase records/tapes/CDs anymore; I instead download all the music I listen to, sometimes making audio CD's out of the songs I download.
• I actually use Lynx as a web browser from time to time. Speed city.
• Yes, this entire page was done by hand in VI. I don't use HTML "editors". As jswearin says, "Power to the non-HTML-editor WWWpage developers!"
• I love old computers.