My Face

David S. Cargo's (escargo's) Home Page

New and somewhat improved!

Location: escargo home / Work History
 

A little work history

Employers

I have worked for

What Do I Do? (Or, What Have I Done?)

I started computer programming in 1968 (FORTRAN II). After graduating from high school in 1969, I took computer programming classes at the University of Washington, where I programmed in Fortran IV, CDC 6000 COMPASS assembly language, Pascal, and Algol. Working for the U of W I also programmed in Fortran IV and in ModComp III assembly language.

I worked for Honeywell as a programmer, a programmer/analyst, and a project manager.

At Cray, I worked on the X-MP and Y-MP Input/Output Subsystem (IOS). That’s what connected those Cray mainframes to their peripherals. I did a lot of bug elimination and system testing. (I’m especially proud of a dump analysis program I wrote that mixed binary dump information with corresponding source code so that values in memory and registers could be displayed symbolically. This was a great practical help in analyzing what really went wrong.)

At Network Systems (which was acquired and later folded into StorageTek), I worked in system test, test automation, and finally GUI development.

Marix needed somebody to work on provisioning that was part of configuring their systems. That required a user interface (not a graphical one) and a network interface to a data base back end.

Xiotech hired me to work in test automation, and then had me working on many related things (including disk storage simulations systems).

MedNet Solutions hired me to work in test automation, and then had me working on many other things.

I like making things better, and that means everything from better code to better documentation, better specifications, and better requirements. To me it’s all about helping the users with their jobs.

An Avocational Side Trip

My career jumped a track. After a year contributing to open source projects, I used my avocational skills as a home baker (and award winner in the Saint Paul Bread Club) to find a job as a baker at Trotter’s Cafe and Bakery. It was fun showing my friends all the things I have baked there behind the retail counter. (I highly recommend the restaurant.)

In early 2005, I got a phone call from a former boss and co-worker at StorageTek; she was working at Xiotech, and wanted to know if I would be interested in a job there. Then the person who hired me left the company. Her replacement didn’t see quite so eye-to-eye with me. Xiotech and I parted ways in 2006.

For a brief time in 2006, I worked as a baker at Saint Agnes Baking Co.

In 2006, I eventually found what I thought was going to be my dream job, MedNet Solutions. Some dreams are not meant to last, however, and as of 2008 I am no longer working there.

Currently Looking

I am currently looking for a full-time job; my resume is available as a Microsoft Word document.

My underlying philosophy of any job has been to try and make things better. I don’t need to be involved with new development; I’m perfectly happy to do software maintentance.

Networking with Past Coworkers

If any of my former co-workers find this page, I would be more than happy to get e-mail from you.