Pets: Two hermit crabs (but one of them
hasn't moved for several weeks)
Education:State
University of New York, College at Purchase and SUNY Empire State
College, Saratoga Springs, NY (B.A. in Psychology)
Certifications or areas of specialty:Software
development using Visual FoxPro, webpage
development using Active Server Pages,
ActiveX Database Objects, VBScript
Years in Computer Services industry:10
years (with many previous years of programming and computer support as a part of
other jobs)
How Long with IBS:9 years
How did you get started:In
the early days of personal computers, I was using a simple database system to
track members and donations for a non-profit organization. The program didn't
suit our needs very well and I said to
my boss: "I think I can figure
out a better way to do this" ...
much to my later regret.
Strangest job you've held in the past:I worked for a development agency in
Nicaragua that built public buildings, including housing, water/sewage treatment
plants and a community slaughterhouse. I programmed a spreadsheet to calculate
the quantities and costs of the building materials, which had to account for an
inflation rate of about 20% per week!
Favorite Aspect of Job:When everyone tells me "it can't be done" and I
figure out a way to do it.
Least Favorite Aspect of Job:Tedious debugging (someone has to do it)
Interests outside of IBS:music (playing and listening), gardening,
hiking, politics, traveling
Book you'd recommend to a friend:The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Trilogy (all five books); Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
Favorite Movies:King of Hearts
Favorite TV Shows:I haven't watched TV in a long time
- the original Star Trek was always a favorite.
Favorite singers or bands:20's string band music, 30's jazz, 40's
bluegrass, 50's country, 60's rock (that's as far as I've gotten so far)
What best piece of advice would you give a client:The most successful projects happen when the
client puts a lot of thought into what they what the program to accomplish,
communicates it clearly, and devotes some time to working with the program to
uncover its capabilities. I've had clients who apologize for being "too
demanding" but those are the clients I've most enjoyed working with and who have
gotten the best results.
Parting shot / Favorite quote:"Do not be desirous of having things done
quickly. Do not look at small advantages. Desire to have things done quickly
prevents their being done thoroughly. Looking at small advantages prevents
great [software] from being accomplished." -- Confucius (551 B.C.-479 B.C.)
IBS Staff Profile:
Allen Belkin