Thanks for stopping by. I'm Jeff Caldwell, web-based application developer at the Idaho National Laboratory. I'm lucky enough to have a day job that I really enjoy, working with a fantastic team, in a field that is moving and changing very quickly. The evolution of the web and variety of subject areas that I work in keeps me learning and has made for a rewarding job experience for over 12 years now. Although I make no claim to be a designer or usability expert, I pride myself in my ability to build good, simple tools that makes people's jobs easier. What really gets me excited (prepare for a disappointing end to this sentence) is data. I love playing with databases, sorting through and making sense of data sets and turning data into something visual that can help people understand what's happening. I spend most of my time working with Adobe ColdFusion, Microsoft SQL Server, HTML and Javascript.
And while that all makes for a fascinating introduction to me, my career is really only small part of me. Most of me (and my time and my money and my heart and soul) is reserved for and goes to my family.
I am a single dad raising four daughters that all love me and make me feel like the luckiest man on earth. They are kind, respectful, thoughtful, intelligent, talented and, of course, beautiful. What more could a parent ask for?? I love to watch them do the things they love and watch them develop into amazing young women who are strong and think for themselves, but still love to sit by me at church and act excited when I get home from work every day.
With these things in my life, I don't have much time or need for other hobbies, but in the spare time I do have, here are a few things I like to do. I enjoy an occasional round of golf (disc or little white ball). I still love to play catch (football, baseball, softball), shoot baskets or kick a soccer ball around, just like I did when I was 12. I love to watch almost any sporting event and appreciate seeing athletes compete out of a love of the game (any game). I love to read, and I'm making my way slowly through the classics (because they're all free on my Kindle). I camp with my family as often as I'm able and I can't get enough of the beauty of the country around me. I am always on the hunt for good music, and have built up a rather extensive collection that spans many genres and eras.
You put all of this together and you have my life right now. Not terribly exciting or action-packed, and not much to show that the world would call success, but I'm blessed to have everything that I need and the love of those I care about and so, I have to say, it's a good life, all in all.