Why this blog?

I began writing this blog while working for Payara Services. Back then, I did most of my blogging for Payara and, before then, C2B2 Consulting.

I found that, every so often, I would get an idea that just didn’t fit with the work I did for my day job and sharing that via Twitter just didn’t cut it; particularly a problem when the thing you want to express is an opinion and you really don’t want to be misinterpreted.

So that lead me to create this blog. It’s a place for opinions, experiments with technology and other tangentially tech-related things. As such, this blog is entirely my opinion and therefore does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of any employer of mine, past or present.

About me

Right now, I am a Middleware Consultant for Red Hat.

After graduating, I worked for IBM for a bit with WebSphere ESB. After a couple of years and a location change, I found myself working for C2B2 doing a mix of on-site and remote consulting. I never really left C2B2, but spent increasing amounts of time working on Payara Server (launched as a separate initiative in 2016), that just happened to be staffed with C2B2 employees.

Since C2B2 is a staunchly independent outfit, it didn’t really make sense to be putting this sort of effort in to a competitor of some of the products we worked with. Despite the fact that I would happily recommend whichever application server was most appropriate for the customer I found myself working with, it’s hard to prove that you’re still independent when your own product is genuinely the most appropriate.

So, on the 6th April 2016, Payara Services Ltd. was created and I officially became a Payara employee.

After another couple of years building a team I was incredibly proud to be a part of, I felt the time was right to move on. I started at Red Hat in the middle of 2018.

Work

I currently work for Red Hat and haven’t been there long so I’m still carving out my place in the team. I’m still trying to keep involved with Eclipse MicroProfile, although I’ll be using Thorntail now rather than Payara Micro.

Personal

I like sport that I can participate in more than sport that I can watch (with the exception of F1 and sometimes rugby). Pretty much any sport where I can compete against myself appeals to me; running, climbing, snowboarding plus lots of other things I haven’t got round to yet. (I’ll need to buy a Kayak first).