Rationality of thought imposes a limit on a person's concept of his relation to the cosmos.
- John Forbes Nash
David C. Dalton Bio
Writing a bio about myself is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I don't want to let the attitude run wild but at the same time I feel 100% honesty is in order. I guess starting off with the basics would be best.
I was born in Jan. 1958 and spent most of my childhood years in Akron, Ohio. In 1978 I moved to New Jersey and spent almost 8 years in the music business, where I met my wife of the last 22 years. In 1985 I returned to a previous love of drafting and engineering. Driven by the "new age" of computers I began taking CAD drafting courses in 1987, including DOS macro programming and advanced wire frame 3D modeling.
In 1991, after almost 5 years of CAD, drafting and engineering experience, I had to make a career decision for the benefit of my family and completely walked away from computers (and engineering) to pursue my own business ventures. After several successful (and not so successful) ventures I began "tinkering" with computers again in 1999. I quickly became engrossed in the internet and began taking online courses in HTML, Photoshop and Javascript.
After some minor success in web site development I came to the startling conclusion that I needed more advanced training in programming languages and enrolled in the Chubb Institute, Parsippany NJ, in July 2000. I graduated at the top of my class in 2001 and was immediately hired as an instructor assistant by Chubb. Within 5 months of being hired I was promoted to a full instructor, teaching Java, HTML, CSS, Javascript, Photoshop, Illustrator and Flash. I was also contracted to provide graduating students with a 5 day "web development essentials" course that covered about every aspect of basic webmastering services.
Soon after being hired as a full time IT instructor I became a Sun™ certified Java programmer. Due to instructor certification regulations at Chubb I also became Brainbench certified in over 15 languages. Unfortunately, in the fall of 2004 Chubb was bought by an Arizona company that did not hold to the standards that Chubb had been known for throughout its history and I decided to resign from my position. Simply put, I could not look my students in the face and tell them they were getting the most for their education money when I knew full well it wasn't so.
In 2001 I created DCD Designs, a full service website design company and began the uphill battle to make a name for myself. In 2005 I decided that building websites for every "Tom, Dick & Harry" was not what I wanted to do and sold the company. That's where we find me today, no longer hiding behind a company name.
Currently I work for a very selective clientele. I am as selective about clients as most clients are about developers. I have no desire to pump out "cookie cutter" websites whatsoever and will turn down these clients one after another. I strive for excellence in everything I do and want clients who know the difference between "average" developers and developers that care about what they do and the results to their clients.
I don't accept "good enough" and don't expect my clients to accept it either. I provide the best services available at the best possible prices. Customers that are looking for the cheap way out need not apply because I value my time. If you are looking for "hamburger" I am NOT the developer for you. However if you are looking for a "sirloin steak" developer that provides the best possible outcome and is willing to go the extra mile to solve problems feel free to drop me a line.
I don't pull any punches in business, I don't believe in wasting your time or mine by telling you what you want to hear instead of the truth. I tell it "like it is" for everyone's best interests. Time is money and business is business!
Currently located in north eastern PA (exactly 1.5 hours from mid-town NYC), we are currently in the process of moving to south eastern FL. I am willing to do onsite consulting as long as all travel and lodging costs are covered.
I have also been asked many times over the years if I was interested a full time position with a development company. In all honestly the answer has usually been no for the simple fact that most of these companies fall into what I consider the "sub par" development category. Too often these companies are more worried about the bottom dollar rather than the customers best interest. I can not and will not be put into a situation that makes me accept "good enough" just because the job has to be done quickly. With that said, IF I could find a company where the standards were set as high as I feel they should be I would more than likely be interested in a project management position.
Languages and Experience
- Server-Side Java™ development (JSP - Servlets) - 7 years, Sun Microsystems certified since 2002
- Java™ JDBC - Database Connectivity - 7 years
- HTML / XHTML - 8 years
- CSS - 7 years
- Javascript - 7 years
- PHP - 3 years
- XMLHttpRequest (AJAX) - 2 years
- XML - XSLT - 6 years
- MySQL databases - 7 years
- Postgresql databases - 4 years
- Oracle databases - formally trained with minor hands on experience
- Apache - 4 years
You might notice a serious lack of Microsoft™ languages above. I have been formally trained in VB, ASP as well as other MS based languages but to be very honest I am not fond of them and will usually not work with them.
Other notables
- Voted member of the year 2005 - sitepoint.com tech forums
- Voted Java guru 2005 - sitepoint.com tech forums
- Voted funniest thread of the year (yes I do have a sense of humor) 2006 - sitepoint.com tech forums
