David Rogers aka "AL the X"

I help build the internet everyday using the power of my mind, a lot of typing, and copious handshakes and conversations. Swearing occasionally helps. I help organize nerds, run community events, and teach people. Sometimes I make money while doing it. Sometimes.

I am an internet application developer. I don't make websites; I build complex systems that automate key business operations. Most of them live on the web and interact with people through the browser, so I guess you can call them websites if you want.

My weapons of choice depend on the task at hand. I'm well-versed in PHP, Python, Javascript, SQL, NoSQL, and a ton of other technologies from Ubuntu to CSS. I use frameworks whenever practical -- Zend Framework, Django, Rails, jQuery, Angular -- and I write clean, objective, unit-tested code and take pragmatic approaches to solving problems. I use version control -- git, mostly -- for every project and use agile processes inspired by Scrum and XP with stories, points, and sprint cycles.

I'm also a community organizer, leading the PHP and Python user groups in town and helping to run coding dojos, which teach test-driven development and pair programming. I teach programming at Valencia College, winner of the 2013 Aspen Award, in a Web Development AS degree program I helped design. I speak at local and regional conferences whenever I can. I'm heavily invested in Orlando and well-connected to the development community here.

As for hard skills, I'm constantly learning new languages and idioms for the ones I already know. I design and maintain High-Availability clusters for clients with multiple appliances and redundant failover systems. I've also been a professional freelancer for many years, so I'm well-versed in communicating with clients, extracting and refining project specifications from their heads, and coordinating multiple contributors across a project. I draw diagrams, write stories, edit wikis... And I've used every project management system you can think of.