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geek skills...

  • Python

    Python

    I have worked extensively with Python for the last 4 years, building web applications using frameworks such as Django (my favourite), Zope and Plone.
  • Django

    Django

    My favourite web framework. I have done a lot of work with Django over the last few years, and have probably read most of its source code in the process. I've written custom model fields, form fields, form widgets, middleware, you name it; if Django's got it I've either read it, used it, customised it or abused it. Or all of the above.
  • HTML(5)

    HTML(5)

    I write valid, semantic and accessible HTML. I've been enjoying exploring the offerings of HTML5, and one day I might even get time to update this page to HTML5 as well.
  • PHP

    PHP

    PHP was the first language that I learnt, so in a strange way it always feels like home. But as time goes on it also starts to feel more like a dirty sin which I shouldn't really admit to.
  • Javascript

    Javascript

    As you can probably tell from the boxes flying around on this page, I like a bit of Javascript. And with the help of jQuery I can write it at twice the speed. (Most of my JS is far more useful than the nonsense on this page.)
  • CSS

    CSS

    Although I tend to work mostly on the nuts and bolts side of things, I have good, solid CSS skills. These include a fair knowledge of how to torture Internet Explorer into complying with me.
  • MySQL

    MySQL

    You know, inserting stuff, selecting stuff, updating stuff, deleting stuff; the kinds of things that you do with a SQL database. I might even create an index if I'm feeling crazy.
  • Not MySQL

    Not MySQL

    As well as working with relational databases, I've also built several large scale websites using non-relational databases such as Google App Engine's Datastore. I'm very familiar with Django-nonrel, which is a fork of Django which works with non-relational databases.
  • Google App Engine

    Google App Engine

    Over the past few years I have architected and developed several large scale, high traffic websites using Google's cloud hosting system, App Engine. I have an extensive and in-depth knowledge of App Engie, its APIs and its limitations and pitfalls.
  • HTTP

    HTTP

    Sometimes I talk to websites when I get lonely.
  • Agile/Scrum

    Agile/Scrum

    Working in various different companies I have experience with Agile and Scrum development methodologies, as well as having developed my own processes for working with clients and leading teams of developers.

things i like...

  • Drumming

    Drumming

    When I'm not building websites I can usually be found playing the drums.
  • Mountain biking

    Mountain biking

    If I'm not building websites or playing the drums then there's a high chance that I'm out somewhere getting covered in mud.
  • Git

    Git

    The version control system, not the guy who tries to get onto the tube while you're still getting off. I'm well versed in using Git, although the more I use it the more I realise that it has endless options and functions which I will probably never use.
  • Snowboarding

    Snowboarding

    There's something quite amazing about sliding down a mountain at high speed on a large plank of wood. In fact, I would go as far as to say that it's more fun than writing Python code. (But not as lucrative.)
  • jEdit

    jEdit

    This is by far the best text editor which I have ever found. TextMate? Nope, it's better than that. Vim? Whatever. jEdit is awesome, even if it is written in Java.
  • PDB

    PDB

    Python De-Bugger. Whenever people ask me to help them with a problem in Python I usually just show them PDB, and then not long after that they stop asking me to help them so often. What can't be solved with PDB is either magic, or imaginary.
  • Gaffa tape

    Gaffa tape

    Occasionally you find yourself faced with a problem which is not Python-related. These problems therefore cannot (necessarily) be solved with PDB, but do not fear, if you can't solve it with PDB then you can almost definitely fix it using gaffa tape.

this is a box...

One day I might put something here.

about me...

Hi, my name's Adam, I am a web developer based in London.

If this site looks really out of date then it just means that I'm busy.  I do occasionally write about some of technical things that I'm playing with on my blog (if I get time).

I spend most of my time working with Django and Google App Engine building highly scalable complex web applications.  I currently work for Potato where we create all kinds of fun stuff on the web.

 

You can see some of my open source code on my GitHub account. 

 

Move your mouse around the page for more info...

some of my (really old) work, which you can't see...

Back end development.  If it works, you wont see the bit I did.

BBC Trust consultations site

BBC Trust

This is one of the many large-scale consultation sites that I worked on at Team Rubber.  The site is built in Plone using Team Rubber's Opinion Suite software.  We also created a Welsh version using i18n.
North Somerset Council website

North Somerset Council

A site by Open Communications Ltd in Bristol.  I built the underlying site using Plone. This was then placed behind an XDV front end, which uses XLST to take the content from the Plone site and place it into a completely new design and layout.
QHSR Dialogue Website

QHSR Dialogue

As part of Team Rubber I worked on this Plone-based public dialogue site for the U.S. Department for Homeland Security. Re-skinned using Deliverance, and with some clever caching, this site coped with the high vistor numbers during the dialogue.

some of my (really old) work, which you can see...

Sites where I have done both the front and back end development.

Mountain Trike - The All Terrain Wheelchair

Mountain Trike

A site for a start-up company developing an all terrain wheelchair. The site was built using CakePHP and has a custom designed content management system including a blog roll, facilities to upload documents, images and videos, and a visitor tracking system.
marcherfencing.co.uk website

Marcher Fencing

A simple site using a customised Wordpress theme, which allowed it to be built rapidly and cost-effectively.  The photo slideshow is built to work both with and without Javascript, allowing all the photos to be indexed by search engines and to be fully accessible to users without Javascript.
ffred jones website

Ffred Jones

A site for Welsh solo artist Ffred Jones. Built in CakePHP, the site is an aggregation of various content feeds from Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.  The site caches the Twitter feed to give speedy page loads, and jQuery is then used to trigger an update of the cache once the page has loaded.