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DrScump

6,029 karma · joined April 8, 2015

I am a longtime software engineer whose career spanned multiple environments, from IBM Mainframes to UNIX/Linux to PCs, with roles in Consulting, Escalation Support, and Product Development organizations. Extensive experience in Informix product line (Informix-4GL, Informix-SQL, ESQL/C, Informix Dynamic Server)

Email: yosemite at programmer dot net

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DrScump··on Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (September 2025)
Location: Sunnyvale, CA (SF Bay Area) - ideal if you need "boots on the ground" in SV without paying full retail

Remote: Yes

Willing to relocate: Yes

Technologies: C, Informix-4GL, UNIX/Linux, SQL, Database Systems, Bug Tracking Systems, Cross-Platform Development, COBOL, OS z/OS Mainframes, JCL, Bug Tracking Systems, Ticket Sales, eBay

Résumé/CV: Please request via email or LI

Email: alan.denney@gmail.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alandenney

Seasoned technology professional with 15+ years of deep technical experience seeking Customer Success/Support, Technical Support, or Solutions Engineering roles. I thrive at the intersection of complex technology and customer success.

DrScump··on Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (August 2025)
Location: Sunnyvale, CA

Remote: OK Onsite: OK Hybrid: OK

Willing to relocate: Yes

Past Roles: Customer Support / Service / Onsite Consulting, Programming, Voter Data Systems Development, Ticketing Systems and Sales

Technologies: UNIX/Linux, SQL, C, IBM Informix Servers and Tools (Informix-4GL, -SQL, Client SDK), Shell scripting, IBM Mainframe (OS,zOS), COBOL, OS JCL

Résumé/CV: Available on request

Email: al.d@gmx.us

I'm a former software engineer and technical lead (Informix, Lockheed Martin) with deep experience in UNIX systems, database tooling, and mission-critical application support. My past roles include software development, advanced technical support, and custom solution engineering for enterprise and defense environments.

I also founded and ran a successful online ticketing business (peaked at $460K/year), where I built and integrated systems across eBay, StubHub, and direct sales — experience that sharpened both my technical and sales acumen. (Building solid relationships with vendors and buyers mattered a lot more then.)

I'm seeking a position (FT or contract) in Customer Service and Support (mainly because that's where I offer the most unique value-added immediately) but am open to Development, Publications, or in whatever role has a need. particularly those roles that value pragmatic problem solving, old-school personal engagement, or breadth of experience and perspectives.

I can work locally (South Bay preferred if onsite) or remotely, contract or permanent, W4 or 1099. Note: I could be an ideal match if you want a full time Silicon Valley in-person presence without the typical upcharges.

DrScump··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (May 2024)
Nothing there is called "Product Engineer". The only enumerated roles are:

Backend Engineer - Carrier Integrations Team

Full-Stack Software Engineer, Product Team

DrScump··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (May 2024)
Yes.
DrScump··on An obscure energy calculation could dramatically speed up USA's EV future
No paywall on Seattle Times:

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/how-an-obscure-energy-...

DrScump··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (April 2024)
The listing itself says "Hybrid Madison, Wisconsin", not Remote.
DrScump··on Högertrafikomläggningen – September 3, 1967
How the entire nation of Sweden switched from driving on the left side of the road (like UK, Japan, etc.) to driving on the right in a single day.
DrScump··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (February 2023)
The latter position says "No longer accepting applications"
DrScump··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (February 2023)
Is there a broader list of roles being hired for? Link?
DrScump··on Top Books on Amazon Based on Number of HN Users Linking Them in Comments
Just a collection of affiliate links (tag=rorg-20)
DrScump··on Silicon Valley layoffs aren’t a cost-cutting measure. They’re a culture reset
>The US has 'rediscovered' it through the tech companies.

It's only spoken of in the media positively in the context of newer tech companies.

My first programming job was at a defense contractor no doubt considered "stodgy" by the cool kids. Their newest office building was environmentally friendly (~70% naturally lit), and its cafeteria complex was large, well-managed and had both innovative and healthy options (e.g. a pay-by-the-ounce salad bar).

This was in 1983.

DrScump··on The fateful, final journey of the Edmund Fitzgerald
(Lost 47 years ago today.)
DrScump··on The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
Published 85 years ago today.
DrScump··on Ask HN: Forensic analysis for 50 year-old tape?
I'm not familiar with that description. I worked as a 370 series (370/3033/308x/309x) OS/MVS computer operator in the 80s, before programming.
DrScump··on Ask HN: Forensic analysis for 50 year-old tape?
Aside from the physical encoding, note the conventions for IBM tape file sequence and labeling:

https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/zvse/6.2?topic=SSB27H_6.2.0/fa2m...

You can bypass default label assumptions and label processing using JCL directives like BLP, NL, etc.

When I was in mainframe operations and at times ran the Production Control Center (triage), I rescued some systems from being rerun due to clobbered labels by altering JCL.

DrScump··on Why Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor says Silicon Valley is a place no more
How would he know? This article is strictly about San Francisco companies.
DrScump··on US Supreme Court expands gun rights
>you can exercise your first amendment rights within the halls of congress

Really? You can yell from the gallery? You can distribute whatever written matter you want to staffers and visitors?

Um, you do realize that you can't even enter the building without presenting photo ID and subjecting yourself and your possessions to search, right?

DrScump··on US Supreme Court expands gun rights
>the lethality of guns was much less than it is today

That's ludicrous, simply given the state of 21st century medicine vs 18th century medicine with respect to treatment of gunshot wounds alone.

DrScump··on Pirates of the Caribbean Hijacked America's Metric System
>"The object's weight was 1 kilogram."

Leave it to NPR to not understand the difference between weight and mass

DrScump··on Why developers seem to only build luxury housing (2018)
>in most of the US it is illegal to build anything other than single-family homes

This is a flat lie.

DrScump··on Why developers seem to only build luxury housing (2018)
>developers would have to build parking

Where, once you've removed all the parking footprint that existed before? Do you have any idea how expensive it is to retrofit underground parking under an existing structure?

DrScump··on Why developers seem to only build luxury housing (2018)
>car-free neighborhoods

Are people in those neighborhoods willing to forgo the hundreds of vehicle trips a month that they will create via their Uber/Lyft/cab trips and Instacart, Amazon, Chewy, Doordash, and Uber Eats orders? Simply outsourcing those car trips to someone else, and leaving them nowhere to stop in the process, is a hypocritical pipe dream.

DrScump··on Why developers seem to only build luxury housing (2018)
>Do builders over there even know what bricks are?

Builders over here in earthquake country are constrained by earthquake and fire mitigation materials. Plus masonry isn't energy-efficient.

BTW, I highly recommend the PBS series "Home Diagnosis" for modern home building strategies and testing of insulation and airflow.

DrScump··on WTF Happened in 1971?
>by 1971 it was probably present in a significant portion of us high schools.

That would surprise me. In 1979, right in Silicon Valley, the biggest high school district (East Side Union) had one computer in the entire district, housed at the largest school (Independence). It was a PDP 11/04 (IIRC).

Any schools that wanted to offer a BASIC programming class had to rely on Mark Sense cards submitted through daily intra-district courier runs.

DrScump··on My experience at community college
Absolutely. I graduated with an Associate's degree from De Anza while already working in industry, then transferred to Cal State to complete my B.S. in C.S. I did it all while working and all without taking out a single student loan or any external (like family) support.
DrScump··on I would like to be paid like a plumber
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30892081

40+ points, posted less than 2 hours earlier

DrScump··on First-Time Home Buyers Are Simply Walking Away
Paywalled.
DrScump··on Tool for finding catchy domain names
It's not very helpful given that it doesn't distinguish between existing domains and available domains.
DrScump··on Ask HN: Why my Ukraine related question got flagged?
Because this isn't a political discussion forum. There are plenty of those.
DrScump··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (March 2022)
The funniest part is actually specifying "Enter CTRL-F and type in (company name)". For what role would you hire where the applicant won't know how to do a search in a browser?
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