My professional life

I work on a software development team. My job title is Documentation Manager, but any given day might find me doing voice-overs for a video, writing SQL queries, diagnosing a customer support inquiry, and designing our next software project.

When we create written software documents, we're using larger graphics and fewer words for each set of instructions. I recently rewrote 22 pages of ominous and tedious instructions into a snappy three-page DBA-friendly document. We're also creating videos. When you're learning how to use something, a well-designed picture is worth 1000 words. The response has been very good. We use Adobe Framemaker for documents, Paint Shop Pro for graphics and Adobe Captivate to create videos.

Oracle database management and the tables and interfaces behind Oracle E-Business Suite (especially Inventory and Purchasing) are my favorite technical areas. Digging around to find information and then getting it out of the database and into a report is a satisfying day's work.

Freelance writing

My most recent article describes a trip through the wine country of Walla Walla, Washington. This year I will record more of my travels on RoadTrip America®, and share stories about musicians in Austin, Texas.

When I'm not working

I enjoy cooking. Breads and Italian foods are two of my favorites. Check out the links to some of my favorite Internet resources.

Live music shows light up the night here in Austin, Texas. Aaron wrote about our favorites at An Insider's Guide to Austin.

About the page design

The layout is based on a Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) project at CSS Zen Garden. Many thanks to Rene Hornig for allowing me to adapt his design.