About me and this website

Welcome to my personal website.  I created this site for two primary reasons.  The first is to share my thoughts about the web industry through the blog posts, and the second was to showcase some of my work through the portfolio page.  I hope you enjoy this website and will comment on any posts that interest you.

About me – work and technical

Formally, I have a bachelors degree in Computing Science from the University of British Columbia with a focus on software development and HCI.   During my studies I worked on several web projects through co-op placements and summer jobs.  From these projects I gained experience in the entire web development process.  Because most of these projects were relatively small in scope, I tended to be the only developer, designer, QA, and documenter.

Following my degree, I began working full time for UBC’s VP Research office as the .NET web developer.  For 3 years I developed/designed several web applications, created custom databases, and wrote technical reports.  Working at UBC was a great experience as I was able to learn about each phase of development and gain experience with client communications.

My next full time position (where I reside now) took me to Invoke Media, a Vancouver interactive design agency.  My primary position at Invoke is as the lead PHP developer for memelabs, a contesting platform.  This involves developing the base framework, product development, requirements analysis, and much more.  Some of the latest highlights have been developing a Facebook version of the platform and developing a RESTful API.  Working at Invoke is great as we use the latest technologies in a professional and fun environment.  To me, the saying of, we work hard and  play hard really does sum up a lot of what Invoke is about.

Finally, I continue to pursue projects on the side, usually website design, for various contacts, friends and family.  I have a passion for web development and thoroughly enjoy analyzing problems and finding solutions.  As a result, I continue to build custom web applications as a hobby.  You can see all of my recent work through my portfolio page.

About me – personal

I am a Canadian, born and raised in Vancouver, B.C.  Yes, it’s quite beautiful here, the “best place on earth” (that’s our province’s slogan), I’m not sure it’s “the best” but it sure is up there.  Being a Vancouverite, I am a pretty active person and like to run half marathons, hike, swim, bike,  tennis, disc golf, and of course Ultimate Frisbee.