Testimonials
Testimonials sell the idea of how good something is, but I’m human and often shocked at the🤦♂️mistakes I still make. Thus, in humility, I wrote the following poem:
Some days my fu is strong.
Other days my fu is bar.
With that caveat in place, below are some highlights of my work in the world.
And you produced/developed something our own SIS couldn’t do and they are a multi-million dollar company. This is absolutely amazing. I am proud and honored to work with such a talented individual. My sincerest and deepest gratitude!
-- Dr. Christopher Hauck
I wish everyone we dealt with was as competent, easy to work with and concerned for their clients as you are!
-- J. Marc Rapisardi, Owner, S3 Builders, Inc.
Genesis Project Testimonials
Derek Carlson made my life so much better, so much easier, and so much more enjoyable.
He created a database, Genesis, that was so amazing, effective, efficient, it was a dream that was so much better than everything else available. We would simply tell Derek, "We need it to do 'this' and 'this'. And he did it, often even better than we had asked. He designed, maintained, and upgraded our system for years and the benefits for our organization, our staff, and our customers were tremendous. He transformed my job. Not only did Derek design this incredible tool that transformed all of our lives, in the process he became a great friend. It's always a pleasure to have Derek come by and do his thing.
He is more than my IT wizard, he is a genuine Jedi. If you have computer or database needs, I do not hesitate to give Derek Carlson my highest recommendation. -- Matt Matich, head of one of the 26 school sites that used Genesis
Derek is a great engineer and systems developer. Under his wing I learned a lot, from programming, UI design, project management to database design and deployment. He is extremely creative and professional. His vast technical knowledge, intelligence, experience and people skills make him one of the best co-workers and supervisors I have ever had!
-- Julio Marquez-Sanchez, partner and protégé on Genesis project
Altadena Heritage Architectural Database Project Testimonials
Derek has been assisting me with a browser-based database app for a local preservation and historical group. This project involves Python, MySQL, Heroku, Ruby and Rails. Derek’s work product is innovative and outstanding, but what really shines is his approach. Everything is well-documented, well-tested and transparent. He seeks out emerging best practices, learns them and implements them. In his spare time he refactored a month’s worth of useful code to make it more compact, efficient, and maintainable. On top of this he’s a delight to work with. Had I met Derek back when I was employing developers I would have hired him without hesitation. Highly recommended.
-- Dick Rubin, lead on Altadena Heritage Architectural Database project
The fuzzy search and adjacent-property results screens are freaking awesome. Not just good, but works the way you’d like it to work if you spent time thinking about it. Very, very impressive. -- excerpt from Dick Rubin email
... we are overwhelmingly grateful and pleased over the tremendous contributions you have made to AHAD... -- excerpt from Michele Zack email
It was such a pleasure to see your elegant work yesterday... Dick and I both expressed -- from our different perspectives -- how wonderful your work is... -- excerpt from Linda World email
General Computer Consulting Testimonials
I'd reached an emergency situation with the formatting of a book I was writing and knew I was in way over my head. I put an add out and for some reason Derek's honest and crisp response jumped out from the many who answered it.
I was not wrong. While it became evident that this was something way below Derek's skill level, he took it on with zeal and simply nailed it. But much more than this, it was the way he worked with me and the project that I am so grateful for.
He is a very real, wonderful person filled with integrity . . . and a true professional. A true rarity these days. Way beyond capable and reliable . . . a very intelligent, creative and honest person. Thank you Derek.
-- James Ross Godbe
I am very tech challenged and was beside myself trying to figure out how to get more Mbps to the far end corner of my house. So I reached out to Derek and he came by to analyze and resolve my problem. I recommend him to anyone who might need help. He is knowledgeable, pleasant and very responsive! -- Gloria R.
That is dope AF! I mean everything about it is dope AF but the on/off is *mwah*. Thanks a metric ton, for knocking this out at blazing speed – you’ve made the operators day for sure!
-- James D, Sony New Media Studios
OK, so that said.… besides my best efforts of making this more difficult by providing you huge data sets, you still managed to kill it.
This is working perfectly. The additional explode language config sheet is fantastic, the SD removal works perfectly - it's poetry in motion quite frankly.
-- James D, Sony New Media Studios
You, sir, are the Billy Mays of Excel macros!
-- James D, Sony New Media Studios
I not am not adept at computery stuff. Derek never makes me feel less than for this. He is very clear and supportive in laying out a plan of attack to tackle my computer issues, and he really knows his stuff. "Kind" and "computer guy" are not descriptors which usually go together, but they fit Derek perfectly. And he makes icky things fun. -- Hope G
Being The Love,
Spreading The Joy
Over the past 6 years, in my 9-5 job (which I do in addition to CCC), I have been filing all the loving acknowledgment emails I receive - because I get a lot. I work in a technical support help desk capacity, and I feel blessed to be a blessing to people and get paid to do it. I not only get paid in dollars to do what I do; I also get paid in love. And in Starbucks cards. Everything that comes to me is just a form of love. I recently learned that there's a term for this: emotional paycheck.
Below are excerpts from a handful of the 300+ acknowledgment emails I have received.