My Biography
Hello!
I'm Doug Beaver, a software developer residing in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle, WA. I've always loved exploring the outdoors, some of my favorite outdoor activities include hiking, mountain biking, and snowboarding.
I am an avid traveller, having visited several U.S. states and foreign countries. I think that international travel is crucial to understanding foreign cultures and keeping a balanced worldview, and I wish that more Americans got out and saw the world. You can read about Paris in books, but until you're there and experiencing the sights and sounds of the city, it's hard to understand why it's a center of culture and the arts. Whenever I travel, I'm always looking to go native and experience things that most tourists don't get to see. I love to check out the local markets, galleries, shops and cultural centers.
Related to my love of travel is my love of cooking and foreign cuisines. I'm not as adventurous as some folks (things like head cheese, 1000 year old eggs, etc don't tickle my palate), but I'm always trying new cuisines. Seattle has a surprising variety of cuisines, including several good Ethiopian, Indian and Moroccan restaurants. Being so close to the Pacific Rim, we also enjoy Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, and Korean restaurants; there are good ones in almost every neighborhood. I used to work in the International District of Seattle, which was terrific for a foodie like me who loves all types of Asian cuisine.
Another passion of mine is cinema, I love to watch and discuss films. I'm not above calling them movies, either. :-) I have a special affinity for documentaries and quirky arthouse films, the more the movie defies expectations, the more interesting I find it. I also enjoy many classic films. Some of my favorite films are:
- 12 Monkeys
- Amelie
- Dr. Strangelove
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
- Fight Club
- Lawrence of Arabia
- On the Beach
- Raiders of the Lost Ark
- Rear Window
- Singin' in the Rain
- The Third Man
- Yojimbo
As far as my career goes, I recently left Amazon.com after working there for seven years. I worked in several departments, including Amazon's catalog, supply chain, website platform, and image/media serving teams. If you've ever browsed Amazon.com or bought a product from them, you've used my software.
Amazon was my second job in the software field, I dropped out of college during my Freshman year in 1996 to join a startup and have been working in the e-commerce field ever since. I've returned to school and am studying full-time, focusing on completing my work towards a degree in Computer Science. I've already got a strong background in CS due to my nine years of professional experience, but it's nice to fill in the holes and get to study non-CS topics like psychology, physics, sociology, etc.
I'm currently looking for part-time work in Seattle, but will consider full-time offers from industry leaders (local or otherwise), if the work is interesting enough. I bring a deep background in databases, services, performance tuning, and system design to the table, plus a great attitude. I believe that work should be fun, it's no use putting in 80 hour weeks if you hate your job or co-workers.
My resume is posted online in the following formats:
Thank you for stopping by!
