Personal Homepage of: David Francis
This is my personal website. It is a place where I write what I want for people who care to read. It’s not private per se, but it is of little use to anyone other than myself, those I care about or those who care about me. You’re more than welcome to read the public parts of the site, but don’t be surprised if you find yourself scratching your head and wondering, “Who cares?”
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David Francis the Developer
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
I have decided to revise this page of my personal website to offer a little background and current information as it relates to my web development past and present.
I received my basic HTML training in the Air Force while serving as Superintendent of Public Affairs back in 1995. Way back then, it was new and developing communications method with many quirky limitations due to low speed modems and emerging technology. Prior to that training, my computer experience came from my time as Senior Chemical Analyst at an iron foundry in Birmingham Alabama in the late 80’s. In that role, I learned some basic programming and MS DOS because of the needs of the laboratory. I expanded that knowledge through the systems engineering department at times when the lab was slow.
I took that knowledge of computers and HTML and became a full time web developer in 1998 working for a large international church and continued for 7 years. I developed that website from an 1800+ page static HTML site into a dynamic ASP website with many shared elements and some data driven applications.
I made the intentional decision to learn Microsoft ASP (active server pages) and keep the website on an NT server because the entire organization was Windows based. Their internal server farm was Microsoft and all staff members were trained and familiar with Microsoft Office software. It only made sense to create and host a website that would allow people to contribute to it without having to force them to learn new ways of accomplishing the same tasks. Microsoft FrontPage integrated into the MS Office software and allowed me to be able to train content editors how to publish online within their current skill-set.
Once I chose MS ASP, I quickly learned MS SQL and data access. My development remains within the Microsoft family of technologies and tools because I am familiar with it and it offers many security and stability features that I require.
The job with “the church” came to an end in February of this year due to budgetary cutbacks. Their site remains on the core programming I created but it seems to be falling apart slightly due to a lack of continued development. Frankly, I was ready to leave that position a long time ago but remained out of loyalty or a sense of duty. My dedication was rewarded by my severance and a general letter to the remaining employees that “only the best and most needed people remain.” I guess I was not one of the chosen.
No problem, life goes on.
During the severance period, I had gained a new client that I thought would replace the church client and developed an awesome online auction system. After several months of development, successful testing and an acknowledgement from the client that I built “a million dollar website,” they refused to compensate me for my work for an unspecified period and I “discontinued my business relationship” with them. I was advised that I could force them to pay through litigation but I’m not the litigious type and opted to simply move on with my life.
So February was not so good as you can see. My income was reduced significantly, my health benefits ran out and the promise of wealth evaporated. What happened next? In early March I got in a head on collision and nearly totaled my truck. It was deemed “mutual inattentiveness” by the insurance companies. I knew the driver of the other vehicle had made an illegal left turn but could not prove it. I loose.
So there I sit in the middle of the busiest road in Bowling Green with a wrecked truck, no health insurance, very little money and a general lack of direction. What did I do next? Well besides having my truck towed to a mechanic, I went on vacation. Yep... a little break is what I needed. I went to Gatlinburg TN with my wife and some friends. I decompressed and even read a book, it was good.
It was on this little excursion that I decided to get out of the web business for the most part. I decided to publish a print magazine and leave the web development business save a few existing clients. Since March I’ve built a nice little business that you can read about here.
What does all this have to do with the internet? Well nothing but this is my page and you’re still reading. (grin)
As it turns out, my experience as a web developer as well as the overwhelming demand for online applications has me continuing as a web developer. Shoot, I’ve received more inquiries for new websites since I announced that I was out of the business. My interest in web development now revolves around the needs of my businesses. I am developing a great website for the magazine as well as some hosted applications for contact management and creative collaboration. I am also working on a new core system that can be used to manage any website.
Turn the page: a new direction; ASP.NET
Over the past 9 months, I have learned a number of new software programs as well as new technologies as I became a publisher of a print magazine. I came to realize that I can learn new things and it was only my stubbornness that prevented me from embracing the next generation of ASP. Simply put, the ASP that I have been using for the past 10 years has been “phased out” and replaced with ASP.NET. While it sounds similar, it is in fact an entirely new language/method and I was reluctant to start all over again. My reluctance only cost me greatly because my recent needs and discoveries have shown me how powerful and easy this new way of developing websites can be.
The past week has been the most revealing! I have spent many hours reading documentation, web blogs, and evaluating code that others have written and can see the power and beauty of ASP.NET. As a result of this “research,” I have decided to start re-coding my old methods in VB.NET so I can use them as a standard and foundation for my other development plans.
My responsibilities to the magazine remain so this will have to be done as time allows. That said however, I have an immediate need to develop some applications for the magazine website which means that I will have to borrow or create time to continue the development process.
I have so many ideas for better applications both online and off. I have hundreds of great features for the website as well as for the extranet that will make an impact. Unfortunately, I am limited by time and my ability to invest enough of it into this process. I intend to work on the foundation elements as time allows and then add new modules each week. As the revenue from the publishing company increases, I may re-invest some money into some help but that’s a big contingent. One thing is for sure, with more than 20 years on the computer, I’m not quite ready to give up my development skills and experience.