I never realized I had such a busy year

[sylvar]

I'm working on my performance evaulation, and as I kept thinking about everything I've done this year, I realized I'd have to use the inch and a half of space to write "See attached pages". Here's what I'm reporting, with great pride:


Since July 2002, in addition to routine tasks, I:

• Created wildly popular media icons for Dynix’s iPac, taught my colleagues to do the same, and published my XSLT code. When Dynix customers demanded an official class on my invention, the company created one and asked me to participate. I assisted the instructor in that class.



• Deployed and tested the TBLC Webmail system, learned about SSL secure certificates, shopped for a certificate, bought and installed it, and made TBLC Webmail secure with high-grade encryption. I also deployed a converter that allows our users to view Microsoft Word attachments on the web.



• Created a database design, a hardware recommendation, interface specifications, a functional overview, and a domain name for the Pinellas County local history database; converted several Microsoft Access databases of heterogeneous design into a single standard SQL database; and [in progress] combined these elements to provide a simple, intuitive, powerful interface to a database of over 20,000 records.



• Created a crossword puzzle for the annual meeting that was tailored to the audience and occasion: theme entries, moderately easy clues with library references, poster-sized for group participation. Custom puzzles like this usually cost several hundred dollars.



• Migrated our network services to the new tblc.org server, which provides the system resources needed to run the TBLC Webmail service, keep up with general increased demand, generate web statistics for us and our members daily instead of monthly, and back up more data onto one tape.



• Restored the content of TBLC’s web server within a few hours, using my desktop PC, when our main Web server blew a capacitor and thus incapacitated [Web-only note: hee hee!] our web site and all the sites we host. Web services were available again the very same morning.



• Wrote a new module for the TBLC Library Finder that dynamically generates a standard vCard from a staff member’s entry, pulling data from the SQL database and weaving available data into a properly formatted and MIME-typed response. As a result, TBLC library staff can instantly import a Library Finder record into the program of their choice, including mail programs and PDAs.



• Created the TBLC Special Collections web-based directory.



• Assisted with the Sunline hardware upgrade. I installed the hardware, prepared for the move, solved problems in the wake of the migration, and wrote documentation on the new interface for TBLC staff.



• Rewrote Alleycat’s redirection script from PHP into Perl so that it could run on the RPA server.



• Reclaimed the market value ($1,426) of discarded inventory.



• Designed the new server room and worked with vendors to ensure reliable power, networking and climate control in a facility that provides better physical security and noise reduction.



• Researched content filters and legal requirements in the wake of the CIPA decision, read the full Supreme Court decision and applicable statutory definitions, discussed my conclusions with [the State Library], and presented a recommendation for compliance.



• Created several new second-level domain names for member libraries and TBLC projects, configured our DNS servers to be authoritative for those domains, configured the web server to recognize the domains and serve as a virtual host, and created Webalizer definitions to create automatically generated statistical reports.



• Wrote a Web-based barcode generator that promises to save Alleycat libraries money on labels. My software can generate valid barcode numbers starting with a given number and displays the actual barcodes that, when printed, scan just like the expensive labels meant for permanent use. I plan to create a module that will create a 30-up PDF for standard Avery labels.



• Learned XSLT and XML so that I could customize our web catalog.



• Learned Perl so that I could convert and manipulate data in practically any format.



• Learned advanced SQL commands so that I could make the Pinellas local history database easier to use.



• Learned expert Recall, including I-descriptors, to make media icons more portable and more reliable.



• Learned the vCard specification by reading the official RFC specifications so that I could write a Library Finder module.



• Learned barcode checksums and symbologies to automatically generate printable barcodes.

Not bad for a year's work.

[Update: A coworker just reminded me that I also installed two new huge UPS units, so I added that to the official copy.]

Comments

[ximinez]

...Time to learn something new... On the job... On the clock...

Lucky bastard.