MY STORIES
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I've been building and creating things from wood, metal and plastics; painting everything from houses to cars to drag boats; developing applications using computer and internet technology for over 50 years, but am just now starting to tell my stories and showcase some of my creations.
Here goes (newest stories at the top) ... 100 Technologies INTERNET DEVELOPER 1996-2009 Prior to starting my company, 100 Technologies, I had been a Master Planning and Management researcher at the U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Lab, CERL. I was doing application development for Army Corps offices. My team had close ties with the University of Illinois, and interacted with a variety of very talented computer people. While at CERL, I used Eudora 1.0 beta, a Macintosh email package, which was being developed by one of my teammates. We rubbed elbows with developers of Netscape and Mosaic, the first internet browsers (Mosaic later became Internet Explorer) early in the development of the Internet. While in the Owner/Info Architect role with 100 Technologies, I received the "Monthly New Business [need the name of the award here]" Award. I was also one of the Executive Committee members of CCNet, the Champaign County Network, tasked with bringing in technology to our city. There were bank presidents, the president and marketing leaders of both the Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitor's Bureau, High-tech leaders from the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, NCSA, Army researchers, University of Illinois leaders and business leaders. One 100 Technologies accomplishment was to lead an event at a large venue, where 1000 community leaders came to see internet applications in hands-one display. This event was called the CCNet/Ametitech Partnership. Ameritech was highly supportive our efforts to "wire" our community. At that time, there was also more "big iron", ie., supercomputing power in Champaign, Illinois than anywhere in the world, and they continue to excel in supercomputing, with one of the fastest supercomputers in the world, the "Blue Water" supercomputer. Reference at http://www.ncsa.illinois.edu/enabling/bluewaters That was a good time for technology, and I was honored to be a part of it. Over the next years before closing my company, I developed dynamic websites for nearly 100 clients, with some of my key companies following. 100Tech CLIENTS MANY BY NAME: Champaign County Chamber of Commerce Nature of Illinois Foundation The Cutting Edge Outdoor Maintenance HydroScience Champaign County Online IBEX Geological Consultants Hope For Kids Embroidery By T-shirt, EBT Trophytime Broadbent Dental Marie's Collector Baskets Browne's Fine Jewelry Urbana Golf and Country Club Walker's Super Foods Online Prudential Landmark Real Estate Robeson Mitchem Dental Illinois Parks and Recreation Site Locator SOME BIGGER ONES: DINNER WIZARD I HARLEY-DAVIDSON POLICE DIVISION I THE ADMISSIONS OFFICE This site received almost 1 MILLION THE ECOWATCH NETWORK I worked with the Illinois department of natural resources to develop the EcoWatch Network. They contracted 100 Technologies to provide the technology to connect the citizen scientists of Illinois, who monitored the ecology of the state. My main contact was Shelly Fuller River Watch Program Director Illinois EcoWatch Illinois Department of Natural Resources 100 West Randolph St., Suite 4-300 Chicago, IL 60601 We worked for several years, and the program became one used to collect field data from these citizen scientists, which was then analyzed by state ecology experts. The program funding was reduced in 2002, 100 Technologies dropped out, and a couple of years later, the program ended, as evidenced by the following 2004 article... http://www.daily-journal.com/sports/outdoors/state-pulls-plug-on-ecowatch-network/article_a65df7f7-ad4d-51f2-a2f4-82d4d8dfa926.html SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS
- After months of cutbacks, Illinois has pulled the plug on its volunteer network of environmental monitors. The death knell came late last month when the Department of Natural Resources announced it was firing its 10-member EcoWatch Network staff. "Our last day in office will be October 15, 2004," said Pete Jackson and Dana Curtiss in a notice to all EcoWatch volunteers. "We cannot begin to express our deep regret that we cannot remain at IDNR to support your outstanding efforts as our volunteers." EcoWatch is currently looking for a new home and hoping to keep the program running. "We believe the program has many positive qualities that would make it an attractive addition to one or more conservation-oriented institutions in the state," Jackson and Curtiss said. EcoWatch consists of several volunteer monitoring programs including RiverWatch, ForestWatch and PrairieWatch. Curtiss is encouraging volunteers to continue to monitor their sites. ForestWatch and PrairieWatch sites are surveyed in the fall while RiverWatch sites are sampled during May and June. The EcoWatch Network was established in 1993 in response to the findings of the state's Critical Trends Assessment Program. It established a volunteer network to collect scientifically valid data rivers and streams and eventually expanded to include prairie and woodland sites. Data collected by volunteers was in turn monitored by scientists at the Illinois Natural History Survey. Last year the state budget cut all of EcoWatch's field staff workers reducing program coordination statewide to a handful of employees in the DNR's Office of Reality and Environmental Planning. Over the past seven years EcoWatch has monitored 1,000 sites, including areas of Kankakee and Will counties, and recruited over 1,700 volunteers. Program organizers say volunteer monitoring is cost effective. "Volunteer monitoring of a site costs the state approximately 1/6 of the cost of using professional scientists," they "note adding that the program is a cost-effective and taxpayer-friendly way for IDNR to collect valuable, much needed data." [End of article] |
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