(This is my Curriculum Vitae style résumé; see also my interests-and-skills résumé.) Tom Rathborne Mad Computer Scientist tomr@aceldama.com [ Objective | Relevant Experience | Employment History | Other Work & Activities | Education ]

Objective

To solve problems using the latest tools & techniques.

Relevant Experience

Computer-related Skills

• Expert Object-Oriented Perl designer and programmer.
• Create entire Web systems under Unix, from Apache, mod_perl & SQL back end to HTML, JavaScript & graphics.
• Pay close attention to standards compliance, correctness, and efficiency.
• Automate Unix system tasks with bash, Perl, or Python.
• Configure, install and troubleshoot Unix systems and applications locally or over the Internet.
• Absorb technical details quickly and immediately see the potential in any interesting tool.
• Write the necessary tools wherever existing programs are inadequate or inefficient.
• Have a deep and intuitive understanding of computer graphics concepts.

Primary areas of expertise

Communication Skills

• Maintained clear, concise documentation for several major software projects and Web systems.
• Demonstrated The GIMP to mostly German-speaking conference attendees in Stuttgart.
• Communicated almost exclusively via email at Craig Hubley & Associates.
• Troubleshoot Internet connectivity problems for inexperienced users over the phone.

Initiative & Creativity

• Presented papers at Linux 2001 Conference in Manchester, UK.
• Invent new fractal rendering techniques on a regular basis.
• Implement many of my bright ideas to bring my imagination to life.
• Design back-end programs and graphics for several Web sites, including my own.
• Develop unique programs for Unix to keep my skills sharp.

Planning & Organization

• Plan ahead, leaving ample room for unpredictable growth in system size and complexity.
• Overhauled and swapped live, mission-critical Unix Web systems with minimal downtime.
• Worked independently via email at Craig Hubley & Associates with very little supervision.
• Organized files on Unix, Windows and Macintosh systems to facilitate cross-platform development.

Teamwork & Leadership

• Work well as a leader or a follower, never hesitating to offer ideas when appropriate.
• Worked in a team making and implementing technical decisions quickly at Craig Hubley & Associates.
• Collaborated with dozens of people on large projects and general systems at The Bulldog Group.
• Cooperated with Creative Director to build new Web site and Web department at UUNET Canada.

Employment History

• Personal Training in Unix System Administration with bash
• Interactive OpenGL prototyping
• Integrity Incorporated - http://www.integrityincorporated.com/
• Convoke Communications Corp. - http://www.convoke.com/
• Rue Morgue - http://www.rue-morgue.com
• ColdStream Associates - http://www.coldstream.ca/
• ZON.ca - http://www.zon.ca/
• 2002 - 2005: World Chess Network - http://www.worldchessnetwork.com/

• Brought MapReduce RPC system from prototype to production.
• Transitioned chaotic copypasta to managed service.
• Architected system to maintain pools of bare metal servers.

• Designing and building systems for content abuse mitigation.
• Migration of tens of thousands of hosting customers between hosting farms.
• Maintaining uptime of thousands of FreeBSD and RHEL systems.

• Integrating Arduino embedded systems with Python OSC communication client.
• Architecting OSC behaviours, filesystem layouts, and process conventions.
• Troubleshooting complex multi-process multi-workstation realtime exhibit system.
• Managing complexity, ordering tasks, averting crises, pressing the right button.

• Provided system engineering & support to scale a client's liveblogging system to support over 50k simultaneous users.
• Load-tested systems using Amazon Web Services as a client simulator.
• Developed shared-userland hosting system, isolating customers in OpenVZ virtual environments with minimal overhead.
• Researched and prototyped reliable, distributed message-passing systems.
• Built system to split and index enormous catalogue PDFs so users could download only what they were looking for.

• Transitioned single-developer codebase to multi-developer Subversion management.
• Enhanced and repaired sophisticated multi-customer web data delivery system.
• Replaced slow server-centric widgets with dynamic AJAX widgets.
• Managed Internet services: DNS, Mail, web, co-located hardware.

• Designed and built back-ends for multiple e-commerce sites including BluBlocker Sunglasses - http://www.blublocker.com/.
• Constructed management scripts for large HTTP/FTP virtual hosting systems.
• Built web-based relational contact management system for company intranet.
• Assembled, installed, and managed dozens of Linux systems.
• Configured Cisco, Ascend, and Netopia IP routers for network access customers.
• Provided technical support for all virtual web hosting customers.

• Worked remotely, almost exclusively via email & Intranet.
• Read, wrote & analyzed Internet technical architecture documents in HTML.
• Developed prototype Chernoff face rendering system in The GIMP - http://www.gimp.org/'s script-fu language.
• Investigated, evaluated and worked with SQL database systems.
• Designed and wrote Object-Oriented Perl for distributed system tasks.
• Installed and maintained high-performance Linux x86 system as main server.

• Worked with Illustra ORDBMS and WebDriver to build new corporate Web site and Intranet site.
• Wrote C code to implement new Illustra database functions for use in Web authentication.
• Helped organize the clean switch of main Internet server to new, more powerful hardware.
• Continued most other tasks from January-April 1996 work term. (q.v.)

• Maintained office SGI Irix systems and supported various Internet-related systems.
• Designed a system to build HTML pages on the fly using custom style sheets.
• Integrated Perl & SQL code to store and retrieve Web pages in a relational database.
• Implemented major changes to mission-critical banking Web site on a regular basis.
• Cooperated with account managers, project managers, writers, designers, clients, on all projects.

• Worked with Creative Director to position and build new World Wide Web services department.
• Designed, implemented and documented an automatic system to manage Web sites under Unix.
• Wrote logresolve, a C program to process Web logs, distributed with Apache.
• Wrote glorglox, a C CGI image mapping program, now used on Web sites around the world.

• Created new accounts for shared dial-up IP and UUCP customers on Unix systems.
• Resolved dozens of customers' technical problems by telephone, email and fax each week.

Other Work & Activities

• Graphics geek.
• Have deep intuitive grasp of many computer graphics concepts.
• Attend annual SIGGRAPH conference, since 1997.
• Invent fractal visualization techniques.
• Hack on and use The GIMP - http://www.gimp.org/.
• Attended LinuxTag - http://www.linuxtag.org/ conference in Stuttgart, Germany as GIMP booth volunteer in 2000 and 2001.
• Presented papers - http://www.aceldama.com/~tomr/papers/2001/ on fractals and The GIMP at Linux 2001 - http://www.ukuug.org/events/linux2001/ conference in Manchester, UK.
• Photographer, with a B&W darkroom in the basement.
• Freelanced as an Internet systems consultant.
• Develop and maintain free Unix utilities in spare time.
• Maintain personal home page with personal pictures, links and tools.
• Run bleeding-edge Linux systems.
  • Maintained and automated web systems at Convoke Communications Corp. - http://www.convoke.com/.
  • Created automatic page generation system for new UUNET Canada Web Site.
• Member of the University of Waterloo Computer Science Club - http://www.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/ since Fall 1993.
  • Secretary, Fall 1993 and Winter 1994 terms.
  • Presented ``World Wide Web Primer'' and ``Fractal Basics'' to members in 1994.

Education

• Endlessly curious and autodidactic.
• Candidate for Honours Bachelor of Mathematics at the University of Waterloo - http://www.uwaterloo.ca/, Computer Science Major with Philosophy Minor, 1993-2000.
• Ontario Scholar. Achieved staff honour award in three final years of high school.