My Brief (mostly) Technical History

    I born in Edmonton and I lived in Coronation, Calgary, and Camrose until I was seventeen.  I loved swimming and I was a lifeguard for the couple of years but biking was my sport.  I didn't meet Sharon at that time. She was a "country girl" and she lived 60 miles of north of Edmonton and she went to 4-H, driving tractor, chasing cows and sheep, ... etc.

     We meet at the first year of university "under the sheets"; the rules are very simple -- take 30 girls, 30 boys, 60 sheets and tied them together into the long line girl, boy, girl, boy, ..., girl, boy and  then go to supper at the cafeteria.  The supper, I don't remember, but the conversation with Sharon was very specially.  We weren't in love at that time but the lust was high on the list.  In 4th year we were married and we were in love!

     Eventually, I got my first job in Alcan in Montreal.  The job in Alcan is so, so but the great restaurants, nice movies, we speak only broken French among many native Quebecois speaking French naturally. We meet young people from USA, Britain, and many provinces in Canada. Ahh, everybody in summer in Quebec is in love.

      End of that summer, I was offered the job in Ottawa BNR (changed to Nortel Networks) to build a compiler for DMS-100. The first machine 100% digital (before every switching machine is analog).  My task to design the language and implement front-end "Protel" mostly include the lexical analysis, syntax analysis, and semantic analysis.  David L. had the job to built the back-end including the linker, the choice of the "instructions" and the code generation.  In the first year we build a prototype and then the basic but real compiler.  Soon we had more people in our group including Jane J., Brent B., Marc J., Denise F., and others built an "optimizer", "garbage collection" and many needed tools.   In the next four years, we built portable compiler including the DMS-100 & IBM/370 and a debugger (called "Mentor"). That changed the little company, Nortel, to the first biggest digital switching company to dominate the world in that time.

     Sharon got the 2nd degree, Hygiene, and she was into passion for her job.  David L. was very exhausted to built back-end Protel and he changed his job in San Jose, California.  Also, I was exhausted to built the front-end Protel and working at BNR;  but I was still into the topic of compiler. I got offered first in MDA (Vancouver) then Mitel(Ottawa) and then Cognos (Ottawa).   Lots a fun; mostly success like "Thunder" and "Eiffel";  a few duds but at least you can learn.

     Finally, in the 1990's, I was re-hired for Nortel to build the Object Oriented compiler -- in 1990's it was necessary to be OO, elegant, fast, and simple (for the programmer). Five geeks including myself, Harold J., and three people called the "Becky-Gu-Wu" went to the labs and built a prototype OO compiler.  It took a full year to built it but at the end we demonstrate "Protel-2" and it was a complete success.

      Harold J. started a new company in Ottawa, Becky C. became a V.P. at Nortel, Wu went to Dallas, and Gu continue to be a part the lab.   I went to real Nortel (instead the "lab"),  and I managed to build from a prototype Protel-2 to real Protel-2.   More and more I became a "manager" and less and less a "coder".   At the end, I had five departments with an approximate total 50 people.   The career is OK, but for myself,  I have to change to something different but exactly what?

     I finished the task for OO compiler and then I was offered a job to build a tiny group to design an "encryption" tool - simple concept but lots of details. We final got a nice patent for encryption in the first year. We asked Nortel to allowed us to form a separate company, "ChannelWare".  Nortel liked, even loved, the idea.  Nortel only requires 51% ChannelWare stocks, Nortel will rent the patent for $1.00/year for ChannelWare, will give ChannelWare enough money for three years and ChannelWare needed help, Nortel will be there.  The tiny group was starting New Business Starts - ChannelWare.

      I worked at ChannelWare for about a year. It grew from 13 to about 125 people in Canada & USA. We had the core team building the software/encryption, small but powerful for marketing team, 1 person our H.R. team (with help with Nortel Admin), many people into sales in the USA, and great clients like Disney World, General Mills, Blockbuster, ....

      Unfortunately, I was a young man in mid-40's and a I had a stroke.  Why, I don't know the cause and the doctors do not have the cause as well; at least I have the probable cause.  Stress is not my problem but the bad diet,  e.g. MacEggs + Hash Browns + lots of coffee everyday,  there is my culprit.  I will fix every day, fix cholesterol, good exercise, concentrate on health,  ... Thanks to my wife supported me every day, partly fix my aphasia, help to fix my body.

     The solution of a stroke is complicated and you can not change everything at the end.  My solution is: you will need a compiler? you need a website?  Just call me and probably I can do it.  I want Hash Browns as well?  No thanks!

Cheers / John A.