Printer · Developer · Writer

For 18 years, under the banner of Reinvented Inc., my small 2-person programming, consulting, and design company, I have worked with government and business clients like the Province of Prince Edward Island, Elections PEI and The Old Farmer’s Almanac to design and manage web infrastructure and to develop web-based tools and applications.

This work has included:

• specification and management of Windows and Linux-based web, mail, DNS, caching, and database servers (“running the servers”),
• development of web applications in Perl, PHP and JavaScript (“writing the applications”),
• specification and maintenance of MySQL, MSSQL and Sybase database servers (“being the DBA”),
• integration of legacy systems and web-based systems (“making the middleware”),
• assisting clients with information architecture and visual design, and providing training and education (“designing and communicating”)
• working closely with designers, editors and product managers to coordinate sitedesign and engineering (“I am function, they are form”), and,
• management of source-code repositories and issue-tracking systems (“keeping track of everything”).

My superpower is not any of the above, but rather my ability to integrate all of the above: my clients value me for my ability to see the larger picture, to be an effective “jack of all trades” and, because I bring a broad collection of skills to bear, to be able to quickly an efficiently execute projects.

To do this requires not only technical skills and systems thinking, but also the ability to communicate clearly and with wit and imagination.

I am an advocate for open source software, and an active participant in the open source community, most recently with Drupal. I have a particular personal interests in open government data and in integrating Internet (web, IM, email) and telephony tools (Asterisk, mobile devices, GPS).

Before founding Reinvented Inc., I worked for 15 years as a freelance computer programmer and graphic designer for clients including the Royal Ontario Museum, Canadian Tire, and the University of Toronto and for a wide variety of small business and not-for-profit clients.
In addition, I undertook an apprenticeship in the composing room of the Peterborough Examiner daily newspaper (becoming certified as a journeyman printer) and worked as program director of a Trent Radio (a non-profit community radio station), office manager of a political campaign, co-publisher of a community Who’s Who, and as graphic designer and publicist for a modern dance company.

I am an inveterately curious person with a thirst for mashing, remixing, extending, experimenting and pushing new and crazy envelopes. I always have a stable of experimental, non-profit technology projects running in parallel with my client work, everything from developing applications to support public transit in my city to a system to make my local coffee shopʼs music reaction to the presence of its patrons.

I am an occasional contributor to CBC Radio on technology issues, a prolific blogger on technology, travel and local issues, an occasional podcaster and video producer, and a burgeoning letterpress printer.

Note on Pronounciation

Rukavina is pronounced Roo-ka-veen-a. It rhymes with “blue cantina.” It doesn’t rhyme with “truck machiner” or “hooka blini” (that sounds like a pancake that makes you stoned).