jack: expanded

Jack was born in the People's Republic of China in 1975. This places him at about the end of the Cultural Revolution, but shortly before the death of Chairman Mao. That's the cultural context for you.

Jack at work, March 2000.

Belonging to a fairly itinerant family, Jack grew up in London, Wellington, Tokyo and Beijing. This explains his idiosyncratic accent, a combination of New Zealand and British English. Educated in a variety of places, he spent much of his childhood walking the dog and reading (not necessarily at the same time). He studied at Otago University and Victoria University of Wellington for his undergraduate degree (BA), and stayed at VUW to get his BA (Hons, 1st) and MA (Merit). After finishing university, he moved to the UK to be with his partner, Heather Williams, who was studying at the University of Cambridge. In February 2000 he married his partner of four years, Heather Williams (now Heather Elder). Their daughter Rebecca was born in 2004, and Margaret in 2007. After seven happy years in Cambridge, they moved back to New Zealand at the end of 2005 and currently live in Wellington.

Jack works in IT, with an emphasis on documentation, governance structures, and process analysis. He is particularly interested in the build/release process, build management, and working at places that have good facilities for cycle commuting.