Basic History

Originally from Dayton, Ohio, I moved to Japan in 2006 (to rural Mie Prefecture) where I did freelance web development, including the running of a local community and information site for English-speakers living/visiting that area of Japan.

In 2011 I then moved to Tokyo. I spent a few years working for a major Japanese web portal's dictionary and web search features, and now work for a large-scale Japanese social gaming company and work on their portal site - particularly with its behind-the-scenes data collection and engineering as well as the creation or improvement of convenient administrative tools.

I have lived in Japan for over 8 years now and have extension knowledge covering living or traveling in Japan.

Summary of Expertise

My best language is PHP, but am kind of a jack-of-all-trades - I was "classically trained" in C++ from my mid-teen years, have years of experience with Java, and naturally have a lot of experience with JavaScript and other front-end technologies as a long-time web developer.

In recent years, I have worked primarily with search and rankings, however I can where just about any tech hat required in the process of creating and maintaining web services.

Some of my favorite daily-use software

• Vim
• Firefox (+Firebug)
• Linux, preferably Debian-flavored
• Lightroom
• PowerPoint (shockingly)
• Unity

Some of my favorite web services

• Facebook
• Flickr
• Google Maps
• GitHub
• Soundcloud
• Translation Party
• too many to list...

Some of my favorite places in Japan

• Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka for modernity
• Kyoto, Ise, and Koya-san for beautiful temples/shrines/gardens
• Takamatsu, Osaka, Sendai, and Kochi for food (Tokyo has lots of good stuff too)
• Hamamatsu, Matsumoto, Kanazawa, and Kagoshima for impressive medium-sized cities with a good mix of modernity, traditional Japan, and nearby nature