Erlkönig: Comprehensivist

This somewhat fluffy little document attempts to group the various technical points on my main résumé into more accessible categories.

1. User

   • Fluent use of the shells

     • Easy use of both Bourne and Csh families, and others.
     • Natural interactive use of loops, conditionals, and functions.
     • Fully capable of advanced shell script creation.
     • Experience in generating shared shell startup environments.

   • Well-versed in utility usage

     • Capable of advanced data transforms in pipelines.
     • Cognizant of portability constraints of command selection.
     • Familiar with automated architecture-independent search path discovery.
     • Written tradition-conformant additional utilities.

   • Solid grounding in file systems

     • Knowledgable in basic operations and filesystem types.
     • Broad applications of symlinks, especially across automounts.
     • Acquainted with EFS, XFS, NFS, AFS, JFS, Alex, Ext2, Ext3 and abstract fileservice theory, including user-level filesystems such as in AT&T's Plan 9.
     • Versed in xargs(1) and advanced use of find(1).

   • Native on the Internet

     • Extensive use of all major services, including USENET news, YP/NIS, NFS between sites, DNS, WWW, FTP, telnet, SMTP, etc.
     • Use of telnet in connecting to specific ports like SMTP.
     • Net analysis with ping, netstat, traceroute, route, ifconfig, etc.
     • Comparative knowledge of client/server, peer-to-peer, etc.
     • Cognizant of physical network, routers, hubs, firewalls, etc.
     • General use of encrypted channels in nonlocal logins, especially through the Secure Shell (ssh) and related utilities.
     • Had a class-C Internet network in the home in 1991.

   • Expert in window systems

     • Direct experience with SunView, NeWS, X10 through X11R6.
     • Advanced customization experience of startup and resources.
     • Heavy use of different window managers from xwm to fvwm, including the writing of C level window manager extensions.
     • Well-read in human/computer interface issues and design.

2. Programmer

   • General programming

     • Fluent in various scripting and comman programming languages in Unix including Sh, Csh, C, C++, Awk, Perl, LISP, etc.
     • Designed a fully-recursive GNU-make-based paradigm, allowing full and installation and deinstallation of large software hierarchies by making the installed files part of the dependency checking.
     • Later modified the recursive make software to leverage the benefits of GNU autoconf for autoconfiguring software across multiple platforms.
     • Implementation of new editing modes in GNU Emacs LISP, including:
       • Three different C/C++ modes, the last using a finite state machine in LISP to parse code instead of the much-abused parse-partial-sexp method currently in use (and leading to the question of whether a recursive FSM can really be considered to still be finite state).
       • BDF-font semigraphic character editing mode.
       • A highlighting package capable of both full-buffer highlighting and edit-triggered local highlighting.
     • Extensive experience in debugging and extending existing code.
     • Experience programming socket-based TCP/IP communication programs, including C, C++, and PERL implementations.
     • Library usage, including [n]curses, X11, GL, OpenGL, NDBM, math, in both C and C++.
     • Library creation.
     • Writing of software using on-demand, dynamically-loaded modules (in C so far, with plotting towards the C++ examplar idiom).
     • Deep awareness of portability issues.
     • Familiar with methods of prototyping, documention, and testing.
     • Experience with regression testing.
     • Multithreaded programming, mutexes, etc.
     • Userspace device-driver creation, the first for a serial SpaceTec Spaceball 4000 FLX (due to the terrible js-based driver in that year), and the second for an AuthenTec Match Subsytem fingerprint sensor board.

   • Graphics programming

     • Curses software, including BSD, SysV, and Ncurses.
     • X10 and X11 software.
     • GL software.
     • OpenGL software, mainly composed of the Z spatial interface effort, featuring
       • Multiple lights, texturing, shading, lighting based on real-world time-of-day.
       • Fractal sphere generation.
       • Display list usage.
       • Three-dimensional terminals, portable across several implementations of pseudo-ttys, supporting full curses use by emulation of VT52s.
       • Animation.
       • Identification of pointed-to objects.
       • Cursor tracking in X server-controlled textures upon objects in the space.
       • Full interaction with textured X servers.
       • Externally-powered cellular automata, specifically a life simulation graphically represented in a 3d space, driven by a TCP-connected automaton implemented in PERL.
       A screenshot of this software was featured at the Chalmers Medialab website for 3DWM in 1999-2004.
     • Multimode graphics, including a Curses/X11/OpenGL hybrid, with all graphics functions abstracted.

   • Web programming and software configuration

     • Proficient with HTML, XHTML, and acquainted with VRML.
     • JavaScript dynamic input field (table row) form growth.
     • JavaScript outline section hiding.
     • JavaScript augmentation of HTML behavior to add visible citation reference anchors (like [fof01] ) beside blockquote and q elements.
     • PERL-based CGI scripting.
     • Handling of retained server-side state, file-locking issues.
     • Addition of SSL to the standard Apache webserver.
     • SSL-detection and automatic webpage adaptation.
     • Use of SSI variables and includes.
     • Constraining password-controlled CGIs to require SSL.
     • CGI software for user account management, calendaring, MH mail use, man(1) browsing, etc.
     • CGI-based interface to a wireless-messaging (paging) system, software I wrote in PERL for use from the Unix commandline.
     • Generalized CGI form backends.

   • Network programming

     • Lead designer of the prototype Programming Abstraction Layer on an embedded Agere network processor chipset being used in a new company's flagship product.
     • Written FPL assembly language to support deep packet inspection and line-speed editing of TCP and UDP protocols, including ATM, STP, VLAN, and QoS.

   • Kernel Programming

     • Wrote a kernel module to create /dev/editor, supporting a modal input model cycling between buffer overwriteand edit commands, with reading from the device providing the current content. A limited scope acedemic project.

3. Administrator

   • Newsmaster

     • Most familiar with InterNetNews (INN).
     • Setup of internal corporate newsgroup hierarchies.
     • Implemented email-to-newsgroup posting method.
     • Provided web-interface to newsgroups, with CGI-based direct newsserver query to obtain current grouplist.

   • Webmaster

     • Most familiar with Apache and NCSA httpd.
     • Acquainted with security issues of websites and browser, including problems with CGI programs, and early Java implementations. and failed access constraints due to stray uplinked symlinks.
     • Have used .htaccess files for login/password-controlled webpage access.
     • Implemented virtual webhosting using multiple IP addresses per network interface. Cohosted domains: talisman.org, zoion.com, and others.
     • See the web programming subsection of Programming for more information.

   • Hostmaster/dnsmaster

     • Fetched the hosts.txt file from sri-nic.arpa as early as 1987.
     • Written Perl-based linters/converters for DNS tables.
     • Written automatic reverse PTR RR generators, using TXT records to select which IP to so convert for hosts with more than one.
     • I have my own domainnames and portable class-C network including IPv6 support.

   • Postmaster

     • Rewrote the sendmail.cf to remove "." as a separator, enabling DNS-based FQDN-hostname lookup long before most sites had it.
     • I sometimes mumble <defocus> ;-)
     • Experience with other email servers, including Courier, and CommuniGate (a commercial system).
     • Dealt with issues of Unix/Windows integration problems, providing access to a central IMAPs mail server for both open-source email clients like Thunderbird as well as good Outlook support.

   • Phonemaster

     • Experience with running and reconfiguring an Asterisk VOIP system in a commercial environment.
     • Provisioned VOIP and POTS phones under Asterisk.
     • Integrated VOIP server internal databases with LDAP user database to provided a united view through a PHP webpage as the central corporate contact list.

   • IRC

     • Ran an IRC site when the Finns still outnumbered everyone else.
     • Fought mounting traffic congestion as IRC's initial marginally-scalable design lead to the Great Rewrite.

   • Network management

     • Use of intermittant networking: SLIP, PPP, UUCP, etc.
     • Experience configuring routers, firewalls, tcp_wrappers, alternate authentication methods.
     • Use of segregated internal networks, DMZs, and colocation facilities.
     • Familiar with SNMP.
     • Trained by Tivoli Top Gun in deploying their enterprise management software.
     • Worked with Chef for doing automated cluster deployments into the Linode cloud.

   • Software management and installation

     • Advanced software installations across networks, rewriting installation software at need.
     • Creating a prototype filesystem for loading OS's onto hosts.
     • Comfortable managing large suites of software, especially GNU.
     • Experienced in modifying and testing variant Unix kernels.
     • Familiar with SCSI, expert with disk partitioning/setup utilities.
     • Keep abreast of OS patches, including an awareness of related security problems/issues.
     • Able to arrange sufficient redundancy to survive data loss, whether by tape, RAIDs, mirroring (including hand-rolled), fallback servers, rdist, etc.
     • Developed brainwashing scripts to quickly verify conformance with a prototype Unix system configuration while correcting any non-conformant details. A typical run will upgrade some vendor utilities to newer freeware versions, rewrite configuration files, replace /etc/passwd and kindred, close various security holes, setup NFS, timeservice, DNS, logging redirection, create a generic account defaults, install encryptions, check the mail config, etc.
     • Can solve the ~/bin issues seen in heterogeneous environments.

   • Output services (printing, plotting, paging, etc)

     • Familiar with setup of printers and /etc/printcap descriptions.
     • Experience with direct programming of PostScript.
     • Theorized the manner of breaking into a firewalled site through an TCP/IP-capable PostScript printer.

   • YP/NIS

     • Advanced configurations of YP in 1989, with host-decoupled YP databases. This is the scenario where even the master server accesses the YP data through ypbind.
     • Fully aware of just how insecure YP is, especially yppasswd.
     • Able to create new YP databases for arbitrary one-to-one mappable data.
     • Pioneered the use of YP databases for automatic generation of site-specific search paths for commands, libraries, and manual pages.

   • LDAP

     • Performed LDAP installation and intial setup.
     • Ran multiple LDAP sites used as principal authentication mechanism or in conjunction with Kerberos.
     • Configured multiple-server failover for LDAP service.
     • Obtained both corporate and personal IANA PENs for use in creating new schemas for LDAP, compatible with its global namespace.
     • Wrote extended LDAP command-line tools, allowing for clean scripted or interactive LDAP modification while obviating the use of LDIF-format files for the majority of them.

   • User support

     • Acting as guide in all areas to supported users fundamentals of security, and working with users on their specific projects.
     • Make continuing updates, extensions, and additions to the environment, including documentation and a means for notifying users of the new capabilities.

4. Instructor

   • Experience in formal tutoring of others begins in 1980, include private tutoring, seminars, and TEA-certified university-level class instruction for both civilian and military audiences.
   • Subjects covered professionally have included:
     • Planer Geometry.
     • Algebra.
     • Topology.
     • Differentiation.
     • User-Level Unix.
     • C/C++ Programming.
     • TCP/IP Socket Programming in C (graduate level).
     • Advanced Unix Administration.
   • Training of users and support personnel in advanced topics.

5. Analyst

   • Has experience in translating from the client problem domain into the technological solution domain.
   • Able to communicate technological constraints into a form understandable to the client.
   • Comfortable working with employees at a target site to aquire more information about the problem domain, processes in place, unmet needs, bottlenecks, etc.
   • Familiar with various open and not-so-open standards essential to communications in heterogenous computing environments.
   • Direct experience with issues of scalability and the long-term maintainabity of both in-place and prospective solutions.
   • Synergistically combines computing platforms when advantagous to the client.
   • A profound comprehension of the UNIX operating system, as well as a comparative working knowledge of many other computing platforms and OS's.
   • Can identify possible avenues towards more-complete or more flexible solutions, and communicate them effectively to the client.
   • Experienced in educating the client in how to use and leverage the provided solutions after implementation is complete.
   • Prefers elegant or more complete solutions, and can describe why to the client in concrete terms.
   • Has on tap a circle of mutually-supportive cognoscenti, who knowledge can occasionally be leveraged to the client's advantage.

6. Harpist

   Synopsis: promising young harpist gets distracted by computer science around 1987, but still somehow play just often enough to retain some proficiency. Estimated practice time to restore 90% of highest performance level: at least 300 hours over a minimum of six months.

   • Trained in classical harp performance, 1982 through 1986.
   • Highest training level: Applied Harp major, sophomore.
   • Last studied Debussy's Danse Sacrée for harp and orchestra.
   • Medals for UIL competition performances.
   • Attended two UT music summer camps with other harpists.
   • Scholarship awarded by the UT Austin College of Music.
   • Performed in the Salzedo Centennial Celebration, April 1985.
   • Performed in the UT Early Music Ensemble, both harp and voice.
   • Attended the Mimi Allen Jazz Workshop in 1986.
   • Performed the debut of Maxine Warshauer's Love Song with viola d'amorist Rin-Jong Yang at the Third International Viola d'Amore Congress, July 1986.
   • Performances requested for weddings, ambient music at restaurants, etc.
   • Former member of the American Harp Society, Austin Chapter.