BACKGROUND
==========

I started using Gentoo in 2002 when as an experiment I installed it on a sparc
U2 system.  I liked it, kept it, and became active in the Gentoo community.  I
became a developer in April 2004 as a member of the sparc architecture team.
I joined devrel a bit over a year later.  Now I am sparc lead, a member of
devrel (mediator), a member of userrel, and a trustee.  Gentoo is an important
part of my professional life, and I wish to work to make it as rewarding for
others as it has been for me.

A bit about myself.  I have been around for quite a while, but most relevant
for this candidacy is probably some of my professional life at the Computer
Systems Division of Harris Corporation.  I started there as an analyst and
wrote a Cobol compiler.  I soon moved into management and worked as both a
first level and second level manager.  By the time I left to go to law school,
I was an in-house consultant and trouble shooter.

Now I am part owner of a small consulting firm in Virginia where I serve as
unofficial in-house lawyer if ever needed and as a general problem solver.

So I would describe myself as a mediocre developer with pretty good
interpersonal skills and a good trouble shooter/problem solver.  I am better
at solving "people problems" than I am at technical problems.

And oh, yes, I am a lawyer and I am a mathematician.  I am not a computer
scientist.

QUESTIONS
=========

1.  What will you do?
  I can't answer this specifically because I don't know what will come up.  I
  can say that whatever it is, my focus will be on the human aspects.  My
  interest is working with problems involving people, and my approach is
  generally to negotiate and to mediate.  And anyone who has worked with me
  knows that I talk a lot.

2.  Why will you do it?
  I enjoy it and I think I'm pretty good at it.  I believe this is one area
  where I can contribute to Gentoo, and I think that is what our developers
  should be doing (otherwise why be a developer?).

3.  How you will do it?
  Already answered, I think.  I listen and negotiate.

4.  What is the timescale for doing it?
  Indefinite, determined by circumstances.

5.  What experience do you have with this or a similar role?
  I'm a lawyer with lots of management experience.  I'm currently Gentoo's
  sparc lead and I even have developed software.

6.  Why do you think you are qualified?
  I don't think I can add anything to what I've already said.  Look at my
  background and you think I am or I'm not.

7.  How you plan to balance a council role with your current Gentoo role?
  For the most part I see a council role as an extension of what I am already
  doing.  That said, because I am a member of devrel, there are possible
  situations where a conflict of interest could arise, in which case I'd have
  to not participate for council.  The same is true for the Foundation
  (trustees), but I see it as much less likely.

8.  How much time can you dedicate to the council role?
  I don't know.  Certainly, meeting time and the required preparation time and
  time for any follow up I commit to.  But I won't say that I'd give council 4
  hours a week for example.  I tend not to dedicate time to anything, but to
  allocate it to the tasks where it is needed.

SUMMARY
=======

For its long term existence, Gentoo must provide an environment in which its
developers may perform the tasks they wish to work on while providing our
users the system they deserve based on their reliance on us.  This does not
mean it will always be fun or that everyone will always behave.  It does mean
that when problems arise, we must move to solve them with as little disruption
or drama as possible.

I have experience doing just that, I enjoy it, and I think I do it reasonably
well.  If you elect me to council, that will be my main interest.

And now you know what you get.