Forging the Cloud

The Beginning: 1982

My first lines of code were written in 1982 on a Commodore 64, typing BASIC programs while my older brother played Superman, jumping off the bed. Coding under pressure was ingrained from day one. Throughout my life, I searched for ways to write code on computers, breaking apart operating systems to understand how they worked.

By 1995, I was running Linux and hosting my own Quake II game servers at the local ISP for hot pings and quick frags. My world opened when my dad sent me my first hyperlink through AOL instant messages. It revealed the power of HTML and sparked my passion for building websites.

I started building HTML websites in 1995, evolving from Perl/CGI scripting into PHP by late 1999. I quickly began creating database-driven websites, shifting between Microsoft ASP and PHP on Linux, but fell in love with Linux and started building my own PHP servers at home, all while flying combat missions and being a husband and father.

Dual Lives: Military & Web Pioneer

While serving in the Air Force, I maintained a double life as a web developer. By day, I administered Windows systems, built ASP websites for squadron operations, created forms and survey collection systems, and maintained interactive feedback platforms for squadron commanders. I managed Windows PCs and networks with military precision.

By night and during leave, I was building websites for clients, running Linux servers at home, and developing my web development skills. I was programming during the early days of the commercial internet, when hyperlinks first appeared in AOL instant messages.

The PHPFreaks Revolution

In early 2001, I launched PHPFreaks.com, which grew into an online sensation during the post dot-com bust. I wrote comprehensive guides, operated active forums, and helped thousands learn to code and solve PHP problems. The community exploded to over 150,000 members.

I expanded into a complete LAMP network: LinuxForum.com, ApacheFreaks.com, MySQLFreaks.com, and PHPFreaks.com. This success led to a book deal with Sybex Publishing in late 2002 to write "Creating Interactive Websites with PHP and Web Services," published as I departed the military to start The Web Freaks, Inc. in Kissimmee, FL.

With Rasmus Lerdorf, Founder of PHP (2002)

The company began as an online knowledge provider and evolved into WebHostFreaks.com, specialized PHP hosting, then Server Powered, offering VPS and dedicated servers for mid-size businesses. We eventually hosted Bookit.com and Playlist.com along with 2,500 clients simultaneously.

Building the Foundation

Playlist.com Infrastructure Architect

2006-2010

2,000+ Servers, 135M Users: I designed and operated one of the web's earliest "cloud" services using OpenVZ, LVS load balancers, MySQL replication clusters, and custom CDNs.

While VCs wrote checks ($26M in funding), my team and I toiled in data centers, balancing hardware failures at 2 AM with debugging PHP memory leaks. We scaled for viral traffic spikes: concert shares on MySpace, Flash-embedded players across Facebook.

Published Works

Published worldwide, sold in bookstores and online, and used in college courses prior to Facebook being built with PHP. Wink...

Creating Interactive Websites with PHP and Web Services

Sybex (now Wiley Publishing) • 2003

A comprehensive guide to building dynamic web applications with PHP and integrating web services. This book taught thousands of developers how to create interactive websites before frameworks made it easy.

View on Wiley

Setting Up LAMP: Getting Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP Working Together

Sybex (now Wiley Publishing) • 2004

The definitive guide to setting up and configuring LAMP stack environments. This book became a go-to resource for developers and system administrators building web servers from scratch.

View on Wiley