Applicant Information
| Name | Robin Hodson |
|---|---|
| Postal | 8 Westbrook Close |
| Chippenham Wilts | |
| SN14 0DL | |
| Tel. | 01249 443391 |
| mob. | 079 0008 4725 |
| incertia@hotmail.com | |
| LinkedIn &c | about.me/robin.hodson |
This document is available online at freedom.is/code
As a backup, it's mirrored at chipshed.org/code
What I can do for your business
I'm a problem-solver. I write very concise code, which performs outside specs, to sensible defaults. I habitually document my progress, so I can track issues.
I have a knack for looking at things and immediately seeing easier ways of doing them, particularly in process optimisation and logic/hardware design.
Teamworking with other engineers: They're better at the detail; I'm better at the overall plan. If one of them says something isn't possible, I explain how it is: So there's a necessary knowledge overlap. Similarly, if I'm stumped about some aspect of business, one of them invariably knows a way forward.
Employment History
- 2022:
Tshirts & Sons
Surprisingly enjoyable work pick-pack-folding custom-printed garments. Liked process optimisation, which is very similar to logic design. - 2021:
MOD Corsham
"Those flying saucers don't clean themselves, you know..." Dodgy cover stories aside, this was a primarily physical role. Unsupervised escort pass while waiting for eSC vetting.
Employment History (cont'd)
- 2018+:
RISC OS Developments
Helping with the main Southern exhibitions, and moving the Southwest Show to a new central Bristol venue. Also a member of WAUG, manning the charity stand at the SW and London Shows, and various Tech and Anglo-French trademark contributions. - 2018:
Super-high achiever, various Tech projects.
Fiscal Management, self-employed looking after relatives finances, making them 20K richer. - 2010-2011:
Volunteer remote outworker with Hunch Inc (NYC)
Fixed bugs using Python and javascript. Developed the mobile version in php.
Education
- 2023: Learnt Matlab/Octave, to help someone on an FPGA community group.
- 2022: FPGA/ASIC/VLSI/DSP
Bath College - Bath 3D Academy - 2019-2021: Security clearances: eSC, NPPV3, CTC, BPSS, SIA (all lapsed)
- 2019: SIA Training
- 1982-1988: Hardenhuish School
TVEI O-Levels: Robotics, Technology, Maths, Physics. - 1975+: Autodidact - via Electronics magazines, older engineers, generous relatives, practical experimentation, and the town library.
Professional Groups
- 2023
- Acting chair, Bristol World Naked Bike
Ride. Also police and venue liaison.
- More meetup.com walking groups - getting myself moving, gets my life moving.
- More FPGA/Verilog groups - joined to learn, but found myself answering questions.
- More meetup.com walking groups - getting myself moving, gets my life moving.
- 2022
- Bristol WNBR co-ride-leader. Also police liaison, data science, and maps.
- 2021
- Online meeting by ROUGOL, with Sophie Wilson, bounced points off each other, came to several profound conclusions about analogue AI.
- 2019
- Joined php-sw. Much networking, also did a lightning talk.
Professional Groups (cont'd)
- 2017
- First chat about FPGAs, with the designer of the Blackice Lattice board.
Discussed his design, code verses block diagrams, and whether it's best to debug in simulation or live via JTAG. - 2016+
- Chippenham Men's Shed,
Chippenham Hackspace
Co-founded the shedspace to extend the lease of the office building. The hackspace extends the demographic. Recycled a huge banner for zero cost advertising, all done by hand with PVC tape. - 2015
- Swindon People's Assembly, Swindon Borough Council
Civlib activity in Swindon, crossing over to council involvement which resulted in the old college site being redeveloped into a cultural centre.
Voluntary Work & Personal Projects
- 2022+: Learnt Alchitry Lucid (Verilog superset and devboard). Published my research online; considering turning it into a full-scale OSH FPGA community project, on eg Github or Opencores.
- 2021+: Video editing on mobile.
- 2019: Relish Running, as a marshal.
- 2019: Helped start the Corsham Walk & Talk Group.
- 2015: Storage & sorting space for refugee aid, for Swindon People's Assembly.
- 2011: Featured in the Wootton Bassett Rocks music video, on bouncy stilts.
Voluntary Work (cont'd)
- 1990: Built an asynchronous modular parallel processor from scratch, using 40xx CMOS on stripboard. It would be called an APU now.
- 1988: A teacher was impressed so much with my pre-existing PCB skills, he nicked my work to demonstrate what could be achieved. I remarked at the time, "theft is the sincerest form of flattery", as an insult to thieves. This itself was then nicked by Banksy, who misused it as an excuse to steal IP. This taught me you can't control how other people regard your work.
Diversity
There being a serious shortage of coders and indeed FPGA engineers, I've found being open to diversity, is only half the battle: You have to go out and find talented disadvantaged people, who have no idea they're in demand.
More interestingly, simply saying you're not racist etc is not enough: You have to actively track down and advertise in the areas the people you are looking for frequent: They haven't magically heard about you. This was brought home to me listening to feedback from the Bristol WNBR: It forms a very clear graph of majority skin colour, which attracts criticism. The public will jump to conclusions, however unfairly, and this will dent your image.
Diversity (cont'd)
There are hidden aspects to this, and "invisible walls", and you don't find them until you challenge the status quo. Ignoring it is a criminal waste of talent.
It isn't limited to skin colour. Other aspects can be:
- Disabilities, some of them hidden.
- Gender identity.
- Poverty. This is a common consequence of discrimination.
- Highly-skilled people lacking in qualifications, or whom didn't have the opportunity of going to university.
- Imposter syndrome, not technically a medical condition; more of a self-limiting belief.