About me
The site name, irishafrican.co.za, stems from my origins. Born and educated in Ireland, I left before attaining a quarter century and then moved around various countries before settling in South Africa. I have now spent almost half my life in Africa so feel entitled to this description (it sure beats Irish American :-)). I have always worked in IT, probably before there was IT, in various roles (management, developer, architect, consultant, etc.) though I always consider myself a developer and believe this to be the foundation of my other skills and abilities.
When I'm not working, you'll find me running, reading, planning my next trip, or spending time with family and friends.
Technical accomplishments
Senior Software Engineer
I have designed, developed and delivered various solutions throughout my career. Acting as developer, architect, project manager, advocate, etc.
Software Engineer
I have designed, developed and delivered various solutions throughout my career. Acting as developer, architect, project manager, advocate, etc.
Open Source & Side Projects
I wish I had the required skills to become involved in this area. Maybe some day.
Education & Certifications
The only degree I ever achieved was a degree of insanity.
Current projects
Two things I'm actively working on right now.
Biblio
Biblio grew out of an itch which grew out of frustration at never being able to know what books I had or where they were. Many of my books are historical, political, current affairs, etc. to which I frequently want to refer. Not carrying a computerized index around in my head, I needed some other way to access this information, hence Biblio (I may need to change this name as I think some other site has already used it). On top of this is the requirement to locate particular books (this is still a work in progress as, though adding books is simply a matter of scanning an ISBN, specifying their location remains a manual edit).
Currently focused on adding registration functionality. Built with Node.js, JavaScript, and MariaDB.
Chess
I had been an avid chess player in my youth (probably better than average, though not great) and felt it would be interesting to apply my knowledge and understanding to computer logic. My real motivation in this was to learn JavaScript and React. Anyway, out of this eclectic mix of motivations grew my attempt at a web-based chess game. It is still very much a work in progress.
Currently focused on [current milestone or feature]. Built with JavaScript and React.
My family
The people who keep me grounded and make everything worthwhile.
Partner's Name
My partner in everything — [a short, warm description].
Child's Name
[Age] years old. Loves [interest] and never stops asking questions.
Pet's Name
Our [breed]. Chief morale officer and professional napper.
Extended Family
Close with parents and siblings — Sunday dinners are sacred.
Interests & hobbies
Reading
History, biographical, economics, and the occasional technical book — the origin of Biblio.
Chess
Haven't been playing much. Sort of trying to reverse engineer the game so that I can recreate it in code.
Running & Fitness
Had been considering training for next years comrades (got expelled last time I entered) but a new knee seems to have killed that idea.
Music
The only thing I ever played was a record player (remember them?) but I love listening.
Travel
Favorite places so far: Rome, Victoria Falls. Next on the list: Anywhere I haven't been.
Cooking
Weekend experiments in the kitchen. Signature dish: Fish Fingers.
Just kidding, I'd rather starve than eat my cooking :-)