I have been putting off starting a blog, but I suppose the time has come for me to jump on the blogwagon.

The proper things would be for me to introduce myself.

My name is Mike Harman, I am a Systems Analyst/Developer for Orenco Systems, Inc. and have worked there for the past 16 years. For the last ten years I have also ran my own consulting and software development company. I live in rural Oregon, about 70 miles south of Eugene.

I have a hard time remembering when I didn't use a computer. The first computer I used, was when I was in grade school, I must have been 9. I don't remember the type, but the programs were loaded using punch cards. If we chose to, we could come to school early, load a program that would allow us to practice our math. Then, when I was 10, I was introduced to the newly released TRS-80 model 1. The day I first saw the computer, I purchased the manual, which back then was little more than a syntax guide, and read it cover to cover the first night (it was a late night and a small manual). From then on, I was hooked on programming. When I graduated, I went straight into college with a Computer Science Major. 

Five years ago, while working for the electrical division of Orenco, I began developing web applications using ColdFusion. It didn't take log before I was hooked. My first few applications, although functional (some of which are still in use), were ugly. Even then, being new to ColdFusion, I could clearly see how using ColdFusion could shorten the time between requirements and release thus saving money for the company.

My current development platform of choice is a MacBook (personal) and a MacBook Pro (business) running OS-X 10.5 and 64-bit ColdFusion. I do run Windows XP in Parallels so I can use SQL Server 2005. The other software I use for development: Adobe Creative Suite CS, Aqua Data Studio, CSS Edit, Oxygen, Yummy FTP and Eclipse (which I use most of any of the others).