Resume of Chris van Rensburg (a.k.a. Tom Kidding)
To contact me regarding an employment opportunity, please send e-mail to:
Key Strengths
- excellent problem solver, with the uncanny ability to find workarounds to some of the most apparently insurmountable obstacles
- good communication skills, able to clearly communicate goals, requirements, problems, progress, etc.
- balanced disposition, able to both avoid and resolve conflict situations
- well-rounded, jack-of-all-trades and master of some. Experience in a variety of different tasks has given me a healthy respect and appreciation for the various strengths of different individuals making up teams.
- quick to learn and self-motivated, as evidenced by the many self-taught skills that I've acquired over the years, including painting, graphic design, music composition, digital audio production, etc.
- dry and wacky sense of humor, possessing also a particularly unhealthy obsession with The Simpsons
For a more in-depth discussion of my key strengths, consult my detailed resume at...
http://www.tomkidding.com/to/?detailed-resume-strengths
Skills
- Software Engineering & Systems Design
- Technical Documentation, Patent Writing, and Creative Writing
- Web Content & Interactive Media Development
- Graphic Design & Illustration
- Personnel Management & Project Management
- Music Composition, Digital Audio Production & Sound Design
- Training, Education, and Public Speaking
For a more in-depth discussion of my skill set, consult my detailed resume at...
http://www.tomkidding.com/to/?detailed-resume-skills
Programming & Markup Languages
- Programming Languages
- JavaScript - 8+ years
- AJAX - under 1 year
- iframe-based RPC - 3+ years
- JSON - 6+ years (since before the buzzword existed)
- W3C DOM, DHTML - 6+ years
- Perl & CGI, Mod Perl, Image Magick - 7+ years
- Java (familiarity) - 2+ years
- Pascal, Fortran, Forth, Basic (languages that got me started)
- Templating Languages
- ASP (both VBScript & JScript) - under 1 year
- Template Toolkit (with Perl) - 2+ years
- Markup Languages
- HTML - 9+ years
- WML, XHTML-MP, cHTML (compact HTML) - ~2 years
- CSS1, CSS2 & CSSP - 5+ years
- XML - 3+ years
Applications Experience
- Web Servers (and add-ons)
- Database & Spreadsheet
- MySQL
- others - FileMaker Pro, Microsoft Excel, Borland Paradox
- Source Control
- Perforce - 5+ years
- Subversion (TortoiseSVN) - under 1 year
- VSS (Visual Source Safe) - ~1 year
- CVS (Concurrent Versions System) - ~1 year
- Other Tools
- Bug Tracking: Bugzilla, trac
- Project Management: Twiki w/ XP Tracking Plug-in
- Utilities: Beyond Compare, TreeSize Professional
- Graphic Design & Illustration
- Adobe Photoshop - 8+ years
- SmartDraw (vector-based illustration & diagramming) - ~3 years
- HTML, Text Editors, and Internet
- text editors - jEdit (Java-based), BBEdit, Dana
- WYSIWYG HTML editors - Macromedia Dreamweaver, NetObjects Fusion
- FTP - CuteFTP, Fetch, FileZilla
- Music & Audio
- Cakewalk
- Sonic Foundry SoundForge
- Sonic Foundry CD Architect
- Apple Sound Studio
- Creative Labs Vienna (SoundFont editor)
- Utilities & Miscellaneous
- MeetingMaker (scheduling software)
- Shoreline VOIP client
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Platforms
- Microsoft Windows
- Mac OS X
- Linux
Work History
- 2005-present: Zazzle - Leading development on the heavily object-oriented JavaScript framework for the DHTML-based client-side interface of Zazzle's product design tools, including UI implementation using DHTML / JavaScript / W3C DOM / iframe-based RPC and AJAX. Collaborating with a team on defining user experience and information architecture.
- 2002-2004: Pulse Entertainment - application architecture design (client-side), client application to server application interface design, JavaScript programming, UI design, UI implementation using DHTML / JavaScript / W3C DOM, JavaScript API design (Pulse Player abstraction layer), graphic design, server application layer development (Perl, MySQL)
- 1996-2001: Headspace, Inc / Beatnik, Inc. - API design, software design & programming, technical documentation, patent writing, marketing copy writing, graphic design, digital audio production, personnel management, training & public speaking, Web site maintenance, database design (using FileMaker)
- 1995-1996: Freelance Music Production - music composition, arranging, production, audio engineering, synthesizer and effects processor programming
- 1994-1995: SIGMA (Songwriters' International Guild and Musicians' Association) - database design and programming (using Paradox), forms design, poster and promotional flyer design, office administration
- 1993-1994: Private Project - developed an innovative software-based system for sound synthesis
- 1992-1993: Victoria & Alfred Waterfront - assisted with public relations and event coordination
- 1990-1992: Gibraltar Construction - design of suspended ceilings and skimmed cretestone ceilings, project planning and management, building materials management, construction team supervision
- 1989 Jan-Jul: Harry Goemans Nursery - sales, inventory control, plant propagation, plant maintenance (pruning, feeding, pest control), landscaping, staff supervision, greenhouse construction
- 1988 Aug-Oct: Pride Pools - pool layout design, landscape planning, artistic impressions (perspectives), structural schematics
- 1988 Jan-Dec: Ferndale Nursery - sales, inventory control, plant propagation, plant maintenance (pruning, feeding, pest control)
For a more in-depth discussion of my work history, consult my detailed resume at...
http://www.tomkidding.com/to/?detailed-resume-work
Education
- Cape Technikon - Horticulture Diploma (Soil Science, Entomology, Ecology, Landscaping, Botany, etc.)
- U.C.T. (University of Cape Town) - BSc Computer Science
- SACHS (South African College High School) - studied Computer Science as an extracurricular activity and won the school's Computer Studies prize for two consecutive years
- self-taught - the many other skills that I have developed over the years (such as music composition, painting, graphic art, etc.) are self-taught or learned in the industry
Online Portfolios
For extensive online portfolios of my work, consult my detailed resume at...
http://www.tomkidding.com/to/?detailed-resume-portfolios
References
References available upon request.
In the Media
Consult my detailed resume at...
http://www.tomkidding.com/to/?detailed-resume-media