As I've mentioned, I've been building websites since 1995, when I first taught myself HTML and started dabbling with Adobe Photoshop. That first site was quite a hodge-podge and it wasn't long until I gave it a complete overhaul - unifying the look and feel and better organizing all of the material (with a then-brand-new browser-supported feature called "frames").

Parts of that website included various development links and resources that I had used and presented for other aspiring "web-monkeys", which eventually became The Toolbox (and featured the logo that I've re-found and now exists in the lower right corner of this site :). Since my primary online nickname was TigerFire, the name got stuck to the developer's toolkit too.

At some point during this period I began working on websites for friends of mine (such as "The Third Universe to the Left") and for student organizations that I was involved with at Cornell University, such as the Materials Research Society and United Pagan Ministries (who used the site I built, only updating the calendar, until the group dissolved in 2004). For some, like the Materials Research Society, I even ended up developing a logo where we hadn't had one before (which they actually still use in a somewhat simplified form). In a few cases people working on other web projects, some professionally, were asking my design and technical opinions (such as dcaonline and Dixler Studios for their First Teacher project). I started to call this collection of work TigerFire Servers, due somewhat to the fact that I was running my own web server, and the name has stuck ever since.

Then I took the Spring of '98 off from school and my web design experience got me an entry-level job with Michael J. Motto Internet in New Providence, NJ. It quickly became apparent that my skills were beyond mere HTML and by the time I went back to school 8 months later I had: learned advertising graphics design, learned JavaScript, replaced our CGI programmer when he left (learning enough PERL to manage and modify our existing scripts and build a few new ones), built several small websites single-handed and been technical lead on one or two other small projects (as well as being part of the development team for an uncounted number of others), conducted important research on search engine placement techniques, evaluated Cold Fusion for use by the company (in the process, becoming the first in the company to learn it), and built the company intranet. Of course, I also learned how to design much more professional-looking websites than I had before.

That became important over my last two undergraduate years at Cornell as I went back to building student organization websites and continued working for MJMI on an as-needed basis (mostly over school breaks). It was over this time that I built sites for the Multicultural Living and Learning Unit, The Cornell Strategic Simulations Society (who used the last version until 2006 with only minor content updates), and the Science Fiction Society as well as keeping my personal site cutting-edge. I also worked closely with the individual performing a website build for the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine, this included consultation on various technical issues as well as graphics work. By the time I graduated I found that I was looking more at web design jobs than those that had to do with my major of Geological Sciences.

That's how I ended up working for Bear River Associates in Oakland, CA. They hired me straight out of school to work for them as a Human Interface Engineer. This not only required web and graphics design in HTML, XML and Photoshop, but user interface design for Windows CE. While there I also started cross-training as a DBA, learning Oracle and all that other fun stuff. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end though, and as the dot-com industry crumbled many other software companies like Bear River suffered too. Despite my cross-training I was one of the newest members of the staff, so when half the company was laid off so was I.

Soon thereafter I got a job as a web developer for ATM manufacturer, Tranax Technologies (previously known as Cross International Technologies before the pen company forced them to change it). Again, my diverse skills made sure that I didn't end up only in charge of keeping the website up-to-date and looking slick. I added a lot of functionality to our site as well, bringing in features to our front-end website as well as customer-only sections (including parts ordering and an online testing feature for technicians). I was also responsible for a fair bit of our networking and marketing efforts, print brochures and digital presentations, and even a bit of server set-up and maintenance.

Of course, even while I was at Bear River and Tranax I was working on my own personal websites and projects: I worked briefly with Bellalune on projects such as Pantheacon.com, khemetic.org and a redesign of GolfHaven.net. I built a website for a friend of mine who is a Marriage and Family Therapist. I did technical consultation with Celtic Folkworks and with Scenario Game & Hobby Shoppe for websites that each were planning on building (Scenario got some graphics processing, as well). East Bay Gamers and the Hobby Gamers League got new logos. Tigerfire Servers was still alive and well.

Now I'm back in Ithaca, and I'm still persuing personal projects as well as professional ones. But that stuff isn't quite history yet and can be found in my active portfolio.