Al's Computer Page

• The Current Face of Computer Science
• Computer Consulting
• Contracting for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• Teaching About the Internet

The Current Face of Computer Science

September 2, 2005
It's been a long time since I updated this section of my website. A lot of things have changed for me personally and professionally. I had some personal tragedies that stopped me from writing. But now I feel like updating this webpage. Where do I start?

First off, I left JPL a few years ago. It was sad but they are running out of funding for the big space projects and it doesn't look like things will change soon. The last time I looked for work was in 1995(!) Let me tell you the face of computer work has changed dramatically since then. The Web seems to have sucked up most of the computer types for website work. This does not surprise me. What surprised me is how all encompassing the demand was.

There are almost no straight programming jobs anymore. In fact, most computer jobs don't even resemble Computer Science anymore! Now, most computer jobs are what I call advanced window dressing! Lots of eye candy but no real substance or content.

In fact, I recently talked to a few new graduates in Computer Science from the local universities here. It seems the subject matter they teach now is mostly concerned to help you find a job rather than teach you computer science. So new graduates are now more concerned about making a pretty website rather than programming it to do something. What happened to basic algorithms and data structures? What happened to clean code and elegant design? They all get thrown out the window in support of the Web which was developed by a multitude of ad hoc committees which really don't communicate with each other.

I managed to find work "programming" the back end functions of a large website. The main language is PHP working with MySQL. But I also need to code in HTML with extensive validations in Javascript. So I am using four distinct computer languages that are meshed intimately together. Even with the best programming practices, the result still looks like spaghetti code. Hard to understand. Hard to maintain. This is something Computer Science was trying to get away from since the 1960s. Has the state of Computer Science reverted back to that time?

Perhaps the time is ripe for a second wave of Real Programmers. :)

Computer Consulting

Currently I have been writing code in PHP and MySQL for back end programming and HTML and Javascript for the front end of websites. I can also program in C, Fortran, Pascal and just about every assembly language known. I have experience in the three major computer platforms, Windows/PC, Unix/Linux and MacIntosh. I have two degrees in Computer Science from the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, CA and several years of full-time work experience. I mostly work on PCs now but have oodles of experience working on minis and mainframes. Please see my company. One of my recent projects is in legal bill review. I have been on the Internet for years, well before the Web existed. My resume is available upon request. Contact me.

Contracting for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory

April 29, 2001
I used to do contract work for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, CA. Below are some brief descriptions of the highlights of my work with JPL in roughly reverse chronological order.

I mostly designed and wrote websites for JPL. Recently I wrote a web based cost tracking tool for the Mars Future Studies Program. I have also written a few javascript applications and HTML layers. I also have written some heavy duty CGIs (Common Gateway Interface) for these webpages. In fact, I single handedly caused a massive interest in what CGIs can do for webpages in my section.

I also created CDs. I recently helped create a triple CD-ROM which is part of the Global Rain Forest Mapping Project. This triple CD maps out the rain forest of Central Western Africa. This is a joint project with several agencies including NASDA, Japan's counterpart to NASA. The data was generated from JERS-1, a Japanese satellite orbiting the Earth, and is the first of a series of 20-odd CDs to be produced showing the rain forests. One can actually see the destruction of these forests through controlled burning. This CD is also IS0-9660 compatible which means it can be read on multiple platforms including PC, Mac and Unix. These CDs are unique because the data included here are not easily accessible or impossible to get from other sources.

Earlier, I also helped create a double CD-ROM which is part of the Global Rain Forest Mapping Project. This double CD maps out the rain forest of South America.

I was also an upgrade webmaster for the Galileo homepage. Galileo was a very successful mission to Jupiter. Among other things, I have reorganized the FAQ and made a global clickable map of Europa, one of Jupiter's moons. It is speculated since Europa is one of the few moons in the solar system that contain substantial ice/water, there may be life on it!

I was one of the redesigners for the entire Imaging Radar homepage. I created an animated GIF below. It's pretty cool. Click the image below to see it.

My previous tasks were to create webpages for the entire Radar Science and Engineering Section at JPL and a World Watch homepage for disaster preparedness. The latter webpage is a Red Cross-JPL joint effort.

My second six month contract was working with the Imaging Radar group and the Airborne Imaging Radar Synthetic Aperture Radar (AIRSAR) group. One of my tasks is to bring up a web server on a Power Macintosh (Mac) computer and create the AIRSAR homepage on it. I am using the WebSTAR web server software for the Mac. The homepage will have a feature where users may search for various radar images and the order these images from a FileMaker Pro database also located on the Mac. I am writing the interface between WebSTAR and FileMaker Pro in Applescript!

I also help maintain the Imaging Radar homepage which resides on a DEC Alpha. Netscape Communications wanted to link to our homepage and asked for a logo but we didn't have one! So I designed the the graphic on the left using PhotoShop. This is the official logo for the Imaging Radar homepage. We are now listed in the Netscape galleria! Pretty cool, huh?

My first six month contract at JPL was programming in C and Fortran under the X-Windows and Unix environment on a DEC Alpha and Silicon Graphics machines. I was geocoding radar images for the Alaskan Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) facility.

In case you are curious, this is how I commute to JPL (62K GIF). How else am I going to beat the L. A. freeway traffic?

Teaching About the Internet