Brian Glass

• Ajax
• Apache
• AppEngine
• Blender
• C
• CSS
• Django
• GeoDjango
• Gimp
• Git
• Google Closure
• Google Maps API
• Google Docs API
• HTML
• Ingres
• Inkscape
• Javascript
• jQuery
• Linux
• MatPlotLib
• MongoDB
• MySQL
• Nginx
• Perl
• Perforce
• PHP
• PostgreSQL
• Python
• Raphael.js
• Satchmo
• SQL
• SVN
• Symfony
• Tornado
• Yahoo Maps API
• XML

Highly Experienced

With over 17 years of experience in the industry, I have a very broad background. I cut my teeth on C but prefer working with dynamic languages like Python, Perl, or Javascript. While my specialty is full-stack web development, I also have experience in Unix/Linux system administration, database management (MySQL or PostgreSQL), and general systems integration and automation using various glue languages.

Big Picture Advantage

My advantage is my big-picture understanding of technology. Having worked at many levels of various technology stacks, I have a thorough understanding of how all the pieces fit together. I am a generalist.

Bleeding Edge Tempered by Experience

While experience has tempered my sense of adventure, I am drawn to the cutting edge of technology. I continually seek new and better ways to solve problems. I thrive when I am able to choose and develop cutting edge technologies.

Developed content management solutions for the Python/Django based Ellington content management system.

Representative Projects

• Priority Queue

  Engineered, developed, and tested priority queue system for batching of search index updates and deletes. Utilized heapq for prioritization in conjunction with Kombu, Haystack, RabbitMQ, and Solr.

• Photo uploader and editor

  Designed and developed photo batch upload and editing feature for Marketplace businesses. Incorporated drag-and-drop uploading, rotation, scaling, and delete using jQuery and Tastypie for both ajax and client-side operations.

• Obituary Refactor

  Refactored obituary feature, providing moderated condolences, additional meta data, and presentation layer enhancements.

I developed with Python in environments ranging from hosted Linux/MySQL to Google Appengine for both web-based applications and command-line tools. I also acted as a resource for junior python developers.

Representative Projects

• Online Reporting Tool

  Engineered, developed, and tested a platform for developing personalized online reports

  • Collaborated throughout engineering process with tech lead
  • Developed back-end using Python/Django on Appengine with Google Cloud SQL Service
  • Secured confidential data using proprietary security measures
  • Developed Javascript front-end with Google Closure
  • Integrated markup and styles provided by project designer
  • Interacted with client and participated in product demos
• Education and Work Experience Search Tool

  Engineered and Developed an education and work experience search tool for recruiters

  • Developed back-end using Python/Django on Appengine and Google Cloud SQL Service
  • Integrated markup and styles provided by the project designer
  • Completed the project under emergency 2-week deadline
• Online Mail Merge Tool

  Extended and maintained mail-merge tool, focusing on improved stability and security - (Django, MySQL, Openoffice)

  • Implemented numerous security enhancements
  • Re-factored email handler to process multiple jobs concurrently
  • Improved stability through militant exception handling
  • Squashed numerous memory leaks and bugs
• Bonus Tool

  Extended and maintained an application for rewarding bonuses - (Webapp, Google Closure, Appengine)

  • Developed on-the-fly mugshot display using Closure ajax facilities
  • squashed numerous bugs
• Proration Analysis Tool

  Extended and Maintained a proration analysis tool - (SQLite, Google Docs API)

  • Revamped tool to improve accuracy of business day calculations
  • Re-factored significant portions of the code

I work on a variety of web-development projects for various businesses and non-profits using both Python/Django and PHP/Symfony, Redhat and Ubuntu Linux, and MySQL and PostegreSQL.

Representative Projects

• Parkside Church

  Visit the Parkside Church site. In this role I developed a significant number of features for the site including:

  • Developed a Django-based Classified ad system
  • Maintained an event registration system using authorize.net for billing
  • Performed an overhaul of several Wordpress-based sub-sites: Parkside Transit, Parkside Middleschool, and Parkside Highschool
• Biblica

  I participated in the development of a new PHP/Symfony-based site for Biblica.

  • Prepared the initial configuration of Symfony for the site
  • Managed development server hosting and maintenance of MySQL
  • Provided client support when the site was turned over to the client for internal hosting
  • Integrated HTML templates
  • Wrote numerous views, components, forms, and models
• Eternal Perspective Ministries

  I acted as the primary developer for a Satchmo-based ecommerce site for Eternal Perspective Ministries.

• GoCentury

  I acted as the secondary developer for a Real Estate search engine for Century Sales and Management. In this role I participated in implementation of a MongoDB repository of properties integrated into a Django-based site.

As lead developer I was involved in a variety of projects. I worked closely with the Ellington and Jazbox content management systems. I was involved in some data conversion projects and some internal applications.

Representative Projects

• Tide Map/Chart

  Visit the Tide Chart site.

  • Used Python/Matplotlib to generate tide charts (PNG and PDF) from the XTide program
  • Used Django to serve the images
  • Used jQuery and jCarousel to indefinitely scroll tide charts through time
  • Generated a map of chart locations using Yahoo Maps
• Mug Shots

  This application was never released to the public due to ethics concerns.

  • developed Python scripts to scrape arrest data from County Sheriff websites from multiple local counties
  • generated bar and pie charts using raphael.js
  • used jQuery with the taconite plugin for ajax
  • Developed SSH-based CDN Django storage backend using Paramiko
• Source Database

  This is an internal database reporters use to keep track of "sources."

  • Used GeoDjango and PostgreSQL
  • Customized the Django Admin.
• Jazbox to Ellington feed
  • configured Jazbox to feed NITF to a Python server on a remote host
  • Processed Jazbox NITF into something Ellington would accept
  • Fed to Ellington with paramiko

At the Rocky I was the primary Django developer. I built our Django environment from the ground up using PostgreSQL and Apache. I configured an Ubuntu RAID system for developement and hosted our public site on Webfaction. I wrote 90% of the Django code and helped train other developers to use Django. I used jQuery on the client. I developed numerous applications in a very short period of time.

NOTE: since the Rocky closed in March of 2009, many of the portions of the site I built have been shut down and so are unavailable for your viewing pleasure.

Projects

• Holiday Lights

  This application allows people to submit their holiday lights displays and provides our readers with an interface for plotting driving routes and rating displays.

  • Configured PostGIS
  • Imlemented GeoDjango environment and Model/View structure
  • Wrote skeleton templates for our designer
  • Imported Census Bureau shape files (county, city, etc.) into GeoDjango
  • Wrote a Python function for finding efficient routes (The Traveling Salesman problem) using a dynamic programming approach and a unique combination of the nearest-neighbor and full-search method for longer routes - see source code
• Colorado Election Results
  • Created a Python script to extract election results from a SQL Server database (fed by the Associated Press) into an XML feed for our Flash/Flex developer
  • Created a simple Django admin for our reporters to call races
  • Implemented DNS load balancing for election night
  • Configured an Ubuntu RAID server
• Colorado County Election Profiles

  The Colorado County Election Profiles was on a very tight deadline because of the impending election. I worked with a designer/CSS artist and Flash/Flex developer to finish this project in just over 2 weeks.

  • Designed Django models
  • Converted census data to Django database using Python
  • Implemented basic Django templates
  • Created pie charts using jQuery and Canvas (with excanvas)
• Colorado Campaign Finance
  • Designed Django models
  • Converted FEC data to Django database using Python
  • Implemented basic Django templates
• Colorado Election History
  • Created Django environment using PostgreSQL and Apache
  • Designed Django models
  • Imported data from an Excel spreadsheet
  • Created an XML template to feed the Flash application
• Denver Public Schools Report Cards

  Denver Public Schools Report Cards

  • Converted Excel spreadsheet to XML feed for Flash/Flex developer

MR publishes reviews of research mathematics publications and provides a search engine to our database of reviews and bibliographic information. MR's production systems run Ubuntu Linux with Apache, mod_perl and Ingres. Internal application are developed using the HTML::Mason Perl templating system.

Representative Projects

• MathSciNet Front End

  MathSciNet is the primary public-facing product of Mathematical Reviews.

  • UI design using xhtml, CSS, and javascript with HTML::Mason templates
  • HTML::Mason templating system
  • browser compatibility testing
  • Graphics generated with Gimp and Inkscape
  • standards compliance (xhtml 1.0 transitional)
• Scanned Document Archive

  This application is a web-based tool to scan and archive the mathematical publications MR reviews. It is for in-house use only.

  • UI design using xhtml, CSS, and javascript with HTML::Mason templates
  • managed transition from a commercial scanned image archive package (OTG) to an in-house developed system
  • converted MSSQL tables to our own table structures in Ingres
  • Class::DBI object/relation mapper and HTML::Mason templating system
  • object-oriented Perl based storage engine
  • use of Gocr and later an in-house developed barcode scanning tool for auto-identification
  • fine-tuned an open-source Perl package for detecting blank pages
  • Used PDF::API2 perl package for compiling images on the fly into PDFs for in-house viewing
  • end-user support
• ADA (Author Database Application)

  ADA is an in-house application for identification of authors on reviewed publications. This project was a conversion from a combination of a legacy terminal-based application and a collection of printouts to an entirely web-based paperless tool.

  • updated legacy C program for finding likely author matches in our database
  • HTML::Mason templating system
  • refactored UI for a web environment using html, CSS, and javascript
  • converted ESQL C and OSL (Ingres 4GL) logic to Perl/DBI
  • refactored matching algorithm
  • end-user support
• General Support and Administration
  • fall-back Linux administrator
  • minor Apache configuration
  • general in-house end-user support
  • general scripting
  • data conversion

I like to give back to the community. I started the Sheepology project for church management and church web content management. I will be spinning off several modules from that project as projects in their own right including a Django/Flex based visual tree editor and a Django webcam. If you'd like to see some of my source-code, visit this project.

Tidey is a Python tide prediction site built on the Tornado asynchronous web server to make asynchronous calls to XTide. It uses Raphael.js for the charts. I built this as an experiment in asynchronous web servers. You can view the source-code for this project on Github.

I developed a basic Python API for the Harvest time tracking system using Harvest's RESTful XML-based API. You can review the source-code on Github.

When I was working for the Rocky Mountain News, I built an application that helped people find convenient routes to the nearest Holiday Lights. I have excerpted the Python function for finding fairly efficient routes using a dynamic programming approach and a unique combination of the nearest-neighbor and full-search method for longer routes - see source code.

• Glass, Brian, Sept. 1, 2006, IT Trends: Digital Deployment, Sound and Video Contractor
• Glass, Brian, Jan. 1, 2006, IT Trends: Web Servers, Sound and Video Contractor
• Glass, Brian, Sept. 1, 2005, IT Trends: Getting IT Done, Sound and Video Contractor

• DjangoCon 2010
• Web Design World 2007
• OSCON 2005
• Web Design World 2002
• The Perl Conference 1999
• SQL training at CA/Ingres 1996