I have a long resume working in computers, as both a Unix sysadmin and programmer. I currently work as a software engineer for Google, in the Open Source Programs Office — see http://code.google.com/ to learn more. Specifically, I'm a technical lead for Google's Open Source Project Hosting service.

I'm one of the original designers and developers of Subversion, a free version control system designed to replace CVS. I've co-authored a free, online book about Subversion, also available in hardcopy from O'Reilly & Associates.

I use a Dvorak keyboard layout. It's not really faster than a QWERTY layout, but it's definitely easier and more relaxing on the wrists. Very important, considering I basically type for a living.

Once in a while my buddy and I do a podcast together. We have a "pair speaking" shtick going, where we speak at a lot of conferences together. Our most popular talk is up on YouTube, about running a healthy open source community.

I've been playing the piano since age six, and for many years I was into various forms of improv jazz. More recently, I've taken interest in bluegrass music and have taken up playing the guitar and banjo, studying now and then at the Old Town School of Folk Music. I also have a long history of singing in different choirs, though my absolute most favorite choral activity is singing in a barbershop quartet. These days, I'me playing bluegrass banjo in a local jam group.

I have a long-standing partnership with Andre Pluess; we've been compositonal collaborators for over 10 years and have been working as Sound Designers and Musical Theater composers in the Chicago theater community since 1995. Andre and I have a separate website detailing our music and theater career, though the joint resume is usually out-of-date For me, the highlights of our career together have been a number of opporunities to write full-length musicals. Our most recent musical project was an adaptation of Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg Ohio, which, after four years of workshops, culminated in a full production at Steppenwolf Theater (June 2004), performed in a theater showcase in New York (October 2004), and then played at a large theater in Philadelphia (October 2005). It received major awards in both Chicago and Philadelphia, and played at Kansas City Rep in March 2009.

I partake in many other creative activities when I find time, though admittedly I have much less free time now that I'm a dad.

• Photography: I do a bunch of amateur photography with my digital SLR. I use a Canon 5D with several fancy lenses, and Adobe Lightroom to process them. You can see some of my favorite photos in my portfolio.

• Text adventures: I like to play and write interactive fiction games on the computer. (You know, like Zork?) Using the amazing Inform programming language, I've co-authored a Science Fiction Game which won the 2009 Interactive Fiction Competition. I'm also writing a Z-machine emulator in python, as well as a Z-machine emulator for Android phones.

• Role-playing games: nothing beats interacting with other folks both online and around a gaming table; I enjoy playing in the NASCRAG tournament in the summer and playing Rileycon in winter.

• Geocaching: Like all geeks with GPS receivers, I've gotten into Geocaching. It's a great hide-and-seek sport, and a good excuse for hiking, camping, or just exploring urban neighborhoods.

• Electronics: I just started getting into Arduino hacking and learning basic EE theory. How did I live so long without a soldering gun?

All of these awards are the result of collaborations. I love to collaborate!

• Musical Theater / Composition
  • 200 L.A. Theatre Alliance Ovation Award, for Metamorphoses
  • 2004 Joseph Jefferson Award (Chicago), for Winesburg, Ohio
  • 2006 Barrymore Award (Philadelphia), for Winesburg, Ohio
  • Multiple Joseph Jefferson Citations (1997-1999) for various shows
• Gaming
  • 2003 NASCRAG Competition 1st place (a D&D tournament at GENCON)
  • 2009 Interactive Fiction Competition, for Rover's Day Out
• Software
  • 2005 JOLT Award, "Best Change and Configuration Management Tool", for Subversion

Ever wonder what the receipt looks like after legally changing your name? It's not a joke. Here's the story of where that receipt came from.