About

Who is Jon Jennings? I’m a software developer currently living near Vancouver, Canada. Unfortunately at the moment an unemployed software developer.

I’m originally from the UK. I’ve been here for 5 years, done some work outside of IT and am now looking to get back into the industry.

The resume says

“Over 15 years experience in information technology including design, development and implementation. Comprehensive understanding of project-based software development from pre-sales support and systems analysis to testing, documentation and maintenance. Articulate, with the ability to act as a conduit between customers and technical consultants, while comfortable in high-pressure situations.”

but that doesn’t really tell you anything about me.

One of my over-riding interests is technology. Not just technical things themselves but the pace of change. How big was the first hard drive you bought? And the one after that? And now you can hold the equivalent of 70,000 floppy disks (remember them?) in the palm of your hand.

I’m also passionate about beer. Don’t read that the wrong way… I’m not passionate about getting drunk (well, occasionally, OK), I’m more into quality. I love a fine fragrant hoppy beer or something dark and malty… an explosion of flavours on your taste-buds and a long finish that lingers in your mouth. Unfortunately I live in Vancouver and that fabled beer is hard to find. I’m also an ex home brewer… a serious home brewer with bags of malt and hops. One of my aims this winter is to start doing that again.

I’m also a Toastmaster. Toastmasters is a public speaking organization. It provides a learning program to help people get over their fear of public speaking and to learn to perform better in front of an audience. I’m currently serving as Assistant Area Governor and enjoying the opportunity to help others.

Other things that interest me but I’m unlikely to talk about here…

• Music (genuine music, music with sincerity and passion… you might be surprised to hear that that often means folk music).
• Sailing. I hold a Royal Yachting Association “Yachtmaster Theory” certificate which means I’m capable of taking a yacht and sailing it around Vancouver Island if I so chose. In theory.
• Photography. I’m an ex semi-serious photographer. I still have a collection of 35mm SLRs and lenses in the cupboard and only recently sold my darkroom. Film photography is very much a niche market these days. I’ve replaced all that with a pocketable digital camera which, combined with some time slaving over a copy of GIMP, has enough manual features to get me the results I want most of the time. One day I’ll add a nice DSLR and wonder why I didn’t make the move years earlier.