Eston Harden

Engineer | Data Story Teller | Problem Solver

Create and Optimize processes around Data Supply Chains for Organizational Reporting.
Translate Complex and Refined Data Analysis into Actionable Tasks for wide Audiences.
Application Development for Unique Use Case Scenarios of High Value.

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About

A few things you may want to know about my character...

Persistent

Strong believer in Dan Brown's quote "Everything is possible. The impossible just takes longer." I am constantly presented with challenges that others either chose not to do, were unable to solve or just gave up on. Often times solutions are quickly realized and satisfy what is needed, but occasionally one gets what appears to be an unsolvable problem. My approach to these is to break them down into smaller scopes of work then amalgamate those solutions to address the main issue. It's a way to get small wins along the way, building moral to "persist" to completion.

To design means to plan.
The process of design is used to bring order from chaos and randomness.

Alex White Designer, Professor, Author

Risk Taker

Yes. Like to take risks. Especially calculated one's with positive expected values. I use my own capitol to invest (for most this is probably "gambling") in complex derivatives that can have extremely high rates of return compared to conventional stock trading. Leveraging processes from experts in the field and tinkering with their designs to customize my own algorithm has led me to the development of a system yielding consistantly higher returns (ceilings to how much capitol can be used) than the Market Indexes (eg. S&P500).

My development of an investment strategy follows the same process for projects I take on for work. Design a plan. Design a system. Make a

"conscious effort to impose meaningful order" - Victor Papanek

Implement the system. Test the system. Improve the system. Repeat until the desired outcome is realized.

Sometimes risk taking involves "refocusing" a customer. Meaning? Theodore Levitt was quoted saying: "People don't want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole!" I've used this metaphor to convert customers who lose track of a goal. Sometimes they get so wrapped up in the acquisition of new tools that they lose sight of what is important.

Loyal

One can say many things about working for a company for over a decade. In today's world though - that is loyalty. I've been fortunate to have worked with some incredible people and been placed on some great teams. Having a good mission and a sound vision that I believe in certianly helps.

I believe in mentoring those that want it. Investing in (Not giving to) people has always led to great returns. Being an agent for folks and promoting them every chance I can - has given rise to my best professional relationships and opportunities.

Hate to Lose

This doesn't mean I'm not humble though. And certainly no one likes to lose - agree on that. What you do after you lose is what differentiates success from total failure. Quitters never win. Winners never quit. This is probably why I continue to play so much tennis (and lose a lot). It's probably why I'll play tennis the rest of my life. It's not easy to win. If it were, I'd do something more challenging. Same can be said about the projects I work on. Easy one's get completed quickly and I move on. Challenging ones are more satisfying however as they require more strategy and resources to finish.

"Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow." - Ronald Osborn

Requirement Definition, Data Querying, Reporting, Analyzing, Development, Visualization and Communication! Services Provided to Customers

Software Tools

The list of tools below is not an exhaustive. It includes items I work with nearly everyday.
These days - I primarily work within the Microsoft Stack, but things can change quickly depending on the project.

C#

.NET Core Applications typically using MVC. Usually have Database and Library projects attached. Also create Console Applications for scheduled tasks or convert them to Windows Services.

Visio

Primarily used for planning and communicating process flow. Almost all of my Database schema designs are done in Visio.

HTML 5

HTML and Javascript primarily. Typically leverage CSS made available through open source. JS libraries I use frequently are JQuery and KendoUI.

SQL Server

Broad range of uses for this tool including stored procedures, triggers, integration services, analysis services, query tuning and optimization as well as just answering business questions that customers have quering the database.

Powershell

Used to automate tasks that aren't easily achieved with other tools. Great for retrieving things through SMTP.

Visual Studio

Primary IDE used for all code written. Also facilitates in tracking requirements and keeping a project organzied before committing to a repository.

Excel

This is what I call the organizational "Currency". Almost exclusively used for providing and receiving data reports for customers. Nearly all data requests satisfied have an Excel file artifact.

Devops

Microsoft tool for code repository and continuous integration of applications. Used primarily for tracking requirements, storing code, version control, publishing applications and managing the entire process from writing code to product launch.

Azure

Broad set of tools used including provisioning web servers, hosting, application security, database management, VPN setups and anything else an application may need to run. Starting to move more workloads to the cloud as it is much easier to scale doing so.

References Quoted Saying

Contact Eston

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Eston Harden
Lakewood, CA & Baltimore, MD