Jay Harris is Cpt. LoadTest

After seeing yet one more link on the internet attributed to Captain LoadTest, I figure that it is time to put a face to the nickname, plus associate it with any other mindless drivel that might spew out of my head in the next 10 minutes.

I am Jay Harris, the software developer. Not to be confused with Jay Harris the sportscaster on ESPN or Kay-Jay Harris the football player of the New York Giants. I am a senior software consultant, blogger, community advocate, and Microsoft Certified Professional in southeast Michigan, where I specialize in ASP.NET development and automated developer testing. Prior gigs, at least since moving to Michigan in 2003, include SRT Solutions in Ann Arbor working as a senior software consultant, a few years at Latitude Consulting Group in Howell as a Senior Developer and Performance Specialist, and time at Novations Learning Technologies in East Lansing as a Presentation Developer and Performance Specialist. Before moving to Michigan, my path includes several developer and developer-in-test positions at various companies throughout Western New York, and four years as student at Clarkson University, where I hold a Bachelor of Science in Technical Communications and a minor in Computer Science.

Throughout my career, I have focused on the full user experience. I am not only driven towards providing usable interfaces but I am also a strong advocate of practices and processes that improve quality through code, such as automated testing, continuous integration, and performance analysis. I am also active in the developer community, speaking at area user groups and conferences, serving as President of Ann Arbor .Net Developers user group, and organizing local study groups to help area developers pursue Microsoft .NET certifications.

Random Trivia

• I enjoy restoring wooden furniture. I like bringing old, discarded, unloved furniture back to life. It fits well with taking existing code and making it better, taking a poor performing application and making it faster, or even when I was a kid rebuilding Legoland after yet another natural Lego-disaster.
• I am an endorphin junkie. Combine that with a high tolerance for g-forces, and I have an addiction for fast vehicles, extreme roller coasters, and crazy amusement park rides. I hope that I can soon add bungee jumping and sky diving to the list.
• I am not a Michigan Native; I am originally from Western New York. I was born and raised near Rochester, New York, and I moved from Syracuse, New York to Lansing, Michigan in 2003 with my wife so that she could attend law school at Michigan State. We like Michigan, but still consider ourselves tourists, and probably always will.