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About

My name’s Luke. I’m a 24 year old self-confessed geek, currently studying for a MSc in Computer Science at the University of Liverpool after previously attaining my BSc Hons in Computer Networks. Since beginning my studies in 2005 I have also managed to work on an almost full-time basis as a technical ‘consultant’*.

Some highlights of my (admittedly short!) career include:

  • Working on-board the QE2/QM2 ‘ocean liners’ as ’2nd Computer Systems Officer’, which saw me ‘second in command’ of all shipboard IT systems at the tender age of 20;
  • Project managing numerous network rollouts for SMEs throughout the country;
  • Developing web applications utilising the CodeIgniter framework for SMEs;
  • Developing desktop business applications for SMEs using C#;
  • Developing back-end software and services using Java/J2EE;
  • Being a systems administrator on one of the largest privately owned WANs in the UK;
  • Acting as an advisor to a UK company’s board on matters pertaining to their IT policy;
  • Developing IS auditing procedures for UK companies seeking ISO27001 accreditation;
  • Helping develop companies ISMs as part of their ISO27001 accreditation;
  • Planning and overseeing IT infrastructure security assessments within several UK based SMEs.

My primary work focus now tends to be developing applications and services using Java, though often I get mixed up in other projects. Just lately I’ve been tasked with getting to grips with massively-parallel databases (a la Teradata and Greenplum) and getting involved in the ‘ecosystem’ surrounding them (i.e. Solaris administration, MPP systems etc).

Outside of work and studying, it doesn’t get much better, with my interests revolving around:

  • Network Security
    • Two-factor Authentication Systems (e.g. RSA SecurID)
    • Public key infrastructure (e.g. X.509, SSO etc)
  • Web Development
    • Web Standards
    • Advanced UX Techniques (jQuery, Ajax etc)
    • Web Development Frameworks (CodeIgniter, Zend, Blueprint) for aiding in rapid development
  • Network Infrastructure
    • Common Network Services (ISC DHCP, BIND DNS, Samba, OpenLDAP etc)
    • Windows and Linux inter-operability (Exim/Cyrus/Exchange cohesion)
    • Digital PBX Systems (e.g. Asterisk, Cisco Unity)
  • Software Development
    • Hardware/Software Interaction
    • Development Lifecycles (Agile, Waterfall etc)
    • API Standards Development

* I feel terrible pangs of guilt using this word!

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