Midnight Beach logo

Midnight Beach is Jon Shemitz

I have been writing software for over thirty years, since I was introduced to a PDP-8 by an eighth grade 'computer club'. I have written software for a living since graduating from Yale in 1981. I spent some time working for a large corporation, and I spent more time trying to make a living by writing shrinkwrapped software, but I have been providing C# and Delphi software consulting and contract services for over twelve years now.

I have written a lot about programming over the years, starting with little filler articles and moving to long articles, chapters, and solo books. (In addition to my new .NET book, I wrote a Kylix book that also got great reviews but that only sold a couple thousand copies.) I write because I like being a writer and because it's probably good advertising, but also I find that writing makes me a better programmer and helps keep me current.

As a coder, I'm fast and make few mistakes. I'm pretty good at debugging, too. I can write great code for you, and I can often fix and/or finish buggy and incomplete code. Whether your project has features to finish or bugs to stomp, I'd be happy to talk to you about ways that I can help. (Because of my new job (below) while I may be able to take on some consulting jobs, I am neither looking for a job nor am I available for contract development.)

My new job : : 23 years of occasionally impecunious independence ended in January, when I took a fulltime job doing what turned out to be media indexing for Linux cell phones in, mercifully, C++. (I had been told I would be doing straight C, but it turns out that only means the APIs have to be straight C.) I'm still relieved to be free of the boom-and-bust cycle, and I've been immersed in a vast sea of things I haven't done before. Even now that I've gotten my footing, they do manage to keep me busy, and it's rarely boring. A huge improvement on most places I've worked! As in, no thank you, I'm not interested unless you want to drive me to work.

The name Midnight Beach comes from my taste for solitary exercise -
whether walking to the beach at night, or hiking and mountain biking on weekdays.
Created on October 15, 1995, last updated May 20, 2007 • Contact jon@midnightbeach.com