I have done many things and would hate to pigeon hole myself into one career. I would much prefer to think of myself as a Renaissance man, but then again, who wouldn’t?
I started a career in technology over a decade ago, working as a technologist for the School of Fine Arts and Department of Theatre and Drama at Indiana University. From there, I went into the business world at a little startup in San Francisco called Dimension X. Dimension X had the good fortune of being acquired by Microsoft before the “dot com crash.” That was my good fortune as well.
From there, I chose my own road instead of Bill G’s. Never looked back. Always remember, “Those who abandon their dreams will discourage yours.”
For many years, I ran my own software development start up, Vervet Logic developing tools for the Extensible Markup Language (XML). Vervet was indeed a labor of love, and I poured my heart and soul into the company, as did my business partner, Ken. Vervet produced some fine software before selling off the shop.
After Vervet, I made a leap back to my roots, and started a production company in Chicago called Radio Ridge Productions. We were a high-end production house which specialized in corporate pieces, mostly for agencies. We always tried to balance our corporate work with helping the indie film scene in Chicago.
Eventually, I left Radio Ridge in the hands of my partners, and went back to academia. I worked at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, while I attended law school in the evenings at the Chicago-Kent College of Law. I ended my tenure as the Director of Operations for Computing Services at Booth and opened my own legal practice.
Oh yeah, I also occasionally write books for Macmillan Computer Publishing (now Pearson Education) and their many imprints. I’ve written the Netscape Server Survival Guide, Creating Web Applets with Java, and Special Edition: Using Dynamic HTML, Complete Idiot’s Guide to XML, Special Edition: Using XML (Editor) and Special Edition: Using XML Schemas. I’ve also written numerous articles and contributed to too many titles to mention.
If you are so inclined, you may check out my gratuitous self promotion.