My main strength is synthesis -- problem-solving across multiple discipline boundaries. These days my main focus is my art. Teaching since 2006; computers, software since 1977; computer networking since 1984, internet since 1992, decent fabrication and machine-shop work since 1974; electronics since 1974; when all else fails, I make art. I've run two profitable businesses (tiny, largish) and created more than a few cultural/social entities, some utterly non-technical.
Born 1955, Boston Massachusetts.
2010 - present: Faculty at California Institute of the Arts, Art+Technology.
2003 - 2011:"Technician" for the Arts Computation Engineering graduate program at the University of California, Irvine from 2003 through 2011. I worked with faculty Simon Penny, Beatriz da Costa, Robert Nideffer and Paul Dourish. "Technician" is quoted because though my title was staff technician (PROGRAMMER ANALYST 3) I quickly became a substantial part of the program, coteaching with Professor Simon Penny a course-required class 2006/7 through 2010/11. I received my MFA from the same program in 2009.
2001 - 2003: Self-employed software and network consultant; built a half-mile neighborhood wireless 802.11 network; wrote fully automated domain name registration system soliciting domreg form data from the registrant, exhaustive cross- and error- checking and analysis of DNS data, registrar-side management interface, and automated RIPE WHOIS database record submission and management; house-building here in Los Angeles (conversion of derelict commercial building) also consumed time and resources.
April 2000-May 2001: Senior Network Operations Manager, Keen.com, Inc. I designed and followed through to completion a replacement of their network from a simple IP network feed to a netblock announced at two national ISPs and peerage at PAIX with full dynamic routing, failsafe, automatic and manual monitoring, weaning them from Global Exchange before the meltdown. Cisco and BGP4, OSPF. During this time traffic quadrupled, reliability went up, all configuration was documented, automated and placed under source control. DNS infrastructure was brought in-house with self-replicating, redundant, secure linux-based nameservers integrated with existing Microsoft servers. Multiple domain names were placed under professional management. Thorough and repeated ongoing audits were done, at least once finding flaws in outside auditors methods (sic). I built the underpinnings for their NOC, including partially automated logging, priority and delivery of security events to the proper staff, scripted the first real collection of network throughput data. Pre-existing router hardware was used, no new purchases were made (except for some interface cards and memory and leaf routers). The switchover was done with zero downtime.
October 1996-present: artist; documented elsewhere on this website. Maintained my machine on the net, turing.wps.com (in commercial, secure telecom POPs), other unix system accounts, and built a decent-sized website for my artwork, writing and research; built a small radiation spectroscopy lab, and other pointless ventures. Maintained my technical skills and gained a sense of perspective.
July 1996-October 1996:Best Internet Communications, Inc (245 E. Middlefield Rd, Mtn. View 94043, 415-964-2378). (Now Verio.) Vice President of Engineering. A largish ($10M) regional ISP and web provider. Research on Los Angeles ISP market, high-level network design, etc. They purchased my business, TLGNet, Inc (see below) .
September 1992-July 1996: TLGnet, Inc (3004 16th St, San Francisco CA 94103). Owner; then corporate president. Grew a small shared internnet connection into a regional internet service provider, approx. 400 leased-line and Frame Relay customers, $2.0M/year. Built 24/7 Network Operation Center, technical lab, pioneered now-common internet business policies. TLG grew at least two orders of magnitude in scale (from 56K to T3 internal backbone). I did BGP4, policy routing, RADB, Cisco 7000/7500 config, business planning, hiring, firing, etc.
WIRED magazine, (Louis Rosetto, Jane Metcalfe) Contractor. I built their first internet and email server (www.wired.com).
Radio station KOIT (400 Second St., San Francisco CA 94107; Randy Pugsley, John Buckham). Contractor. Assembled, wired and tested three on-air and production broadcast studios.
Radio station K??? (Walnut Creek CA). Contractor. Built, wired and tested four new broadcast studios (on-air, news, two production).
Cygnus Support, Inc., (814 University Ave., Palo Alto CA 94301; John Gilmore). Staff programmer. Unix/MSDOS/GNU telecommunication software ports.
Radio station KKSF (77 Maiden Lane, San Francisco; Tim Pozar). Assistant engineer (fill-in). Maintained the station's on-air and production electronics.
1990--1991: Communitree Group (1047 Sutter St., San Francisco CA 94109; Dean Gengle). Contractor. Wrote a rather large and complex windowing user interface for a medical laboratory viral testing robot prototype.
(d/b/a Fido Software). Created the worldwide FidoNet bulletin board network (35,000 servers in 1995), income derived from licensing software and customizations (Canada Post, etc).
Apple Computer (Mariani Blvd, Cupertino CA) Macintosh OS/ROM group programmer. Features and fixes to Macintosh ROM (the "new" Mac SE and II).
1982--1985: Phoenix Software Associates (now Phoenix Technologies), 320 Norwood Park South, Norwood MA 02062, (Neil Colvin, owner). Programmer. First employee. MSDOS implementation and utilities, from 86DOS 0.86 (MSDOS precursor, 1981) through MSDOS 3.05. Designed "portable BIOS" that led to the Phoenix ROM BIOS. Ported MSDOS to IBM Displaywriter, DEC Rainbow, etc.
1982: Avco Everett Research Laboratory (Everett MA, (George Adaniya)) Staff Engineer. Designed a 24 CPU real-time multi-channel megabyte/sec data collection. 8X300 code for real-time video processor.
1981: Microft Inc, East Falmouth, MA, (Thomas K. Campbell) Staff Engineer. CP/M, CP/M-86 consulting services. 1979--1980: CSSN, (Boston MA) Staff Engineer. Wrote tape backup system (non-streaming DC450XL). "Large" Z-80 based computer system design hardware and software, CP/M and proprietary operating systems. 1978: Solid State Technology, (Woburn MA) Programmer. 8085 system software for a far too early multi-tasking desk-top computer ("Athena 2000"). 1977: Bose Corp (100 Mountain Road, Framingham MA 01760) Engineering technician; Ericcson PBX maintenance. 1973--1976: Ocean Research Equipment, (Falmouth MA 02540) (Cliff Adams, Thomas K. Campbell) Electronic technician, programmer. Side-scan sonar, acoustic navigation, technician, lab and field. FORTRAN IV and NOVA assembly. Made in-house test equipment.