masterdrue

Hi..I'm Drue and I've been involved in technology for 15+ years starting out in IT where in the course of a few years quickly realized that Information Technology is equal to being bi-polar. Generally your either a HERO or a ZERO.. and not much in between. Since I knew that I preferred to operate somewhere in the middle, appreciated consistency and things that continue to work, I moved into world of web development.

Self taught, I was fortunate to have paired up with a number of companies over the years with a start up that focused on Media Broadcasting. To keep the story short, I was broadcasting on the internet live before there were even "Broadcast Servers/Services, like youtube". The niche to that service was you able to fast forward, rewind and pause live broadcasts, as well prerecorded content not much different than today's DVR.. I remember the first time I walked into some company and heard myself playing music on some workers computer. I remember how upset the local cable modem provider was when they showed up at my apartment noting a absorbed every drop of bandwidth between here and Tennesee off of a single 166Mhz 64Mb ram, glorified server..and my shows were crystal clear..

Part of my dreams then and still even now, was to enable musicians (like myself) to play together anywhere in the world in real time.. 10+ years ago.. the technology wasnt there and even today, unless your on wi-fi with an ipad.. isnt practical at a professional caliber.. so that dream is on the back burner.. (but hint hint, its not too far off)

One of the most recent companies enabled me to push the envelope in real estate websites and BIG data having worked for one of the biggest luxury brands in real estate. I can happily boast that I single handedly achieved 1.8 million first page 1st and 2nd position (yes I took both spots 88% or greater of the time), Google indexes and had a site that took Realtor, Trulia, Zillow and the other big names for a run for their money, position and served content. I was an avid fan of websitegrader, where I maintained a 99.8 ranking for years. I also achieved these results from Google naturally with an average monthly Google budget of 50 bucks or less.

About 3 years life changed and I got sick.. at first it wasnt constant, but in short, it was like someone was thrusting rods through my guts, (for a while i thought someone had a vudu doll or something.. but in the course of 3 years, endless tests, hospitals, specialists.. and by this time the pain was non-stop 24 hours a day averaging a constant 5 on the pain meter, and when the attacks hit, once i hit a 12 (on a scale of 1-10).. (and when i say pain, i mean life stopping only thing you can focus on pain and pray it was going to pass soon).. I honestly thought that was it for me.. Somehow and for some reason I was blessed and I can only assume God stepped in.. (and please note I'm really not that versed on religion, but i have no other reason for getting better) but after a final hospitalization, the doctors discovered some sort of infection that was attacking my pancreas... (it was the day of the redBull space jump, I started feeling better).. and today, I'm basically back to normal thanks to my wonderful wife who kept pushing me to get better and making sure I did what was needed..

Having lost 3 years of my life where I was at the top of my game, I found my skill set had all but vanished with the evolution of technology. Over the last year, I made the decision to retrain and attended Zend training.. where they provided allot of information in a short time.. and in the frustration of trying to pick up the pieces, I dont recall what I googled, but found killerphp.. Stefan had a try this out tutorial and when I went through it, it clicked.. I described it as perhaps a dim LED.. but that was more than what I had put together of the last year so here I am today..

I've been quite fortunate for the experiences I've gained over the years and look forward to opportunities ahead. I hope to grab hold of OO PHP and related languages where needed and begin building new systems. I have a ton of idea's stock piled up that have potentials as many of my past projects have produced.. As I've always been an innovator, I understand how projects should work and evolve into greatness.. Like I said, I've had much success along the way and look forward to much more.

If you want to chat about things, let me know.. I'm happy to talk, assist or just listen.. and I look forward to contributing what I learn to the community. I'm mostly an open book and definatley believe in building relationships with similar minded individuals..