About Andrew Comeau and Drewslair.com
Andrew Comeau
For specific information on my work experience, please refer to my on-line resume.
Technical Summary
My computer experience started during high school in the mid-80s when I
taught myself the BASIC programming language using one of the old Tandy TRS-80
machines.
This
gave me a head start on the college
programming courses that came a couple years later. In the years since, I've continued to add
hardware and software skills, mostly through experience
and self-directed study. My tech support experience started informally as
part of some early jobs and I was able to use this experience to eventually work my way
into a full-time I.T. career.
In addition to support work, I continued with my interest in programming by learning how to design database systems, first with Borland Paradox and then with Microsoft Access. My work with Access eventually covered areas such as retail sales, production efficiency tracking, human resources and laboratory testing. While I'm still interested in computer technology in general, my focus is now on computer programming which, over the past few years, has included experience with tools such as Microsoft SQL Server and Visual Studio.NET.
Technical Support
In 2002, I accepted a long-term contract position as a computer support technician for a local electric utility employing around 300 people. During a year and a half at that company and another shorter assignment that followed, I was able to use and build on experience with PC-compatible systems and the associated hardware. I also helped to manage a company-wide rollout of new computer systems. This project included upgrades of all users from Windows 98 to Windows XP, coordination with other departments for upgrade scheduling and inventory tagging of new equipment.
Although my original focus was on software and programming, this experience helped me to sharpen my skills in the installation and configuration of PC hardware including printers, scanners and other peripherals. I also gained experience in network user support.
Programming / Database Design
Microsoft Access / VBA
My first experience in Access was the design of a document control database to automate the administration of a documentation system I was responsible for. During this project, I built on previous experience with other desktop databases such as Borland Paradox and Alpha Four. I started with Access 2.0 and have worked with subsequent versions through Access 2007.
I soon found other uses for Access, worked with other departments and facilities to develop new applications and continued to use Access after leaving that company to build applications including retail sales and inventory management.
Visual Basic.NET / VB 6.0
After working with Microsoft Access for several years, I moved on to Visual
Basic 6.0 and VB.NET while working as a Production Support Engineer providing
support for custom business software designed by the company's in-house
Development team.
This gave me experience with object-oriented design and the writing of efficient code. I also
gained database experience with
Microsoft SQL Server as the back-end to many of the applications. After
two years in this position, I moved to the Development team and had the
opportunity to work on both team and solo projects which covered the entire
software development cycle from requirements gathering through deployment and
support.
After participating in a couple of team development projects with VB.NET, I earned my MCP certification by passing Microsoft exam 70-306: Developing and Implementing Windows-based Applications with Microsoft Visual Basic.Net and Microsoft Visual Studio.Net
SQL Server
Since 2005, I've been working with Microsoft SQL Server as part of programming and application support. This experience includes analysis and writing of optimized stored procedures, both individually and as part of multi-step jobs, for the support and design of business applications.
Drewslair.com
I first designed Drewslair.com in March 2000 as a personal site to showcase
my interests including writing and photography.
The
site has been in continuous operation since. Drewslair.com was later
redesigned to give it a more professional focus. The current purpose of
this site is to serve as my professional voice on the Internet and to share the
knowledge that I've gained with others who are interested in learning more about
programming.
Drewslair.com has been designed and managed using Microsoft FrontPage. Since it's inception, I've contributed most of the site's content including graphics and original writing and have used and expanded my experience with graphics software, HTML and CSS to adapt my own design theme.
In 2008, the site was redesigned again with cascading style sheets and other tools in order to remove the dependency on the obsolete FrontPage extensions. In 2010, Drewslair.com was moved to a new hosting provider in order to add support for ASP.NET. A new version of the site, AndrewComeau.com, has been redesigned in Visual Studio using ASP.NET for navigation and other features.
At its high point, Drewslair.com has received an average of over 700 page requests per day from over 8700 sites in more than 80 countries. I have enjoyed corresponding with people from around the world who have visited the site and found answers here.
Personal
In addition to computers and technology,
I also enjoy reading, listening to a wide selection of music and, over the years, I've
also played around with photography and cooking.
I've been interested in becoming a writer since I was a kid and feel fortunate to live in a time when the Internet has expanded the opportunities for this beyond anything we've seen before. I enjoy almost all aspects of writing except for the agonizing effort that it takes to get started on a project.
If there's anything else you would like to know, you're welcome to e-mail me the questions at acomeau@drewslair.com.
Andrew Comeau
Ocala, Florida
February 2010