At-a-Glance
For a quick read on who I am, I can do no better than to point you toward my bio-done-in-pictures:
Click the image for a readable version
A Motto?
Years ago it became fashionable to append a pithy quote to the bottom of emails and forum postings. Not wanting to miss out on a trend, I began casting about for something to use in my own posts. As I was pondering for a quote, the chorus of an old hymn came to mind:
Brighten the corner, where you are
This is a beautiful sentiment, and well-worth aspiring to. I wish I did a better job of living up to it. Frankly, I have a dark & despondent side, and I probably darken my corner as often as I brighten it.
My Professional Bio
Jonathan Gennick is an Apress Assistant Editorial Director with responsibility for database topics. He is line-leader for Apress's Oracle and SQL Server lines. He publishes carefully-chosen database books of a general nature. He maintains a keen interest in books across all lines that touch upon relational databases.
In his last position before changing to an editorial career, Jonathan rose to the rank of Manager at KPMG Consulting (now BearingPoint). There he delivered development and system integration services to state and local government clients. He was noted for his troubleshooting skills and his ability to smoothly navigate the oft-turbulant waters between client management, consultants from competing firms, and client technical personnel. Jonathan has experience with languages and technologies such as Mumps, COBOL, Powerbuilder, various assembly-languages. He is well-known and widely-published for his expertise with Oracle Database and the attendendant languages SQL and PL/SQL.
In his off hours, Jonathan enjoys taking a rather low-tech approach to life. He serves actively in his local church, where you will never find him using a computer during any of his sermons or talks. He especially enjoys teaching a weekly Sabbath School class to the 10- to 13-year-old age range. He is an avid mountain-biker, riding even on ice in the dead of winter. He routinely volunteers at his local church-school, most often to cook an occasional hot-lunch for the kids. He also serves his local community as an Emergency Medical Technician for the Alger County Ambulance Service.
Jonathan the Writer
If you're visiting this page, you might already know that I'm a published author, having written several books on Oracle Database, SQL, PL/SQL. I've also written numerous articles over the years for Oracle Magazine. If you care to, you can visit my books page to learn more about the books I've written. I also have some database articles on this site that you might find interesting.
Writing and being published has been one of the best things to happen in my life. Someday I really ought to write an article to share the impact that writing has had on me. In the meantime, here's a tidbit for you: I lived in a second- or third-hand, single-wide, trailer in a mobile-home park when my first book came out. Yes, it's true, I was trailer-trash.
(Note: I do not, and never do, use the term trailer-trash pejoratively. But I've "been there," and that gives me license to use the term in my own life-story. I'll about slug anyone else I hear using it though...).
Quote of the Day
Every now and then something worthwhile dribbles from my lips. Elliot Rusty Harold must've thought so on 15 May 2002, and again on 26 June that year, when he made my comments on an email list into quotes of the day on his Cafe au Lait website.
The Yooper In Me
In October 2000, I fulfilled an almost life-long dream of living "up north" by moving to the City of Munising in Michigan's Upper Peninsula (U.P.). The city name is pronounced "mew-nih-sing", with emphasis on the first syllable. The location is in the central U.P. on the south shore of Lake Superior. Here's a satellite image courtesy of Google Maps:
Opportunities for outdoor recreation abound. Nearby we have the Hiawatha National Forest, the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, and the Grand Island National Recreation Area, just to name a few. It's also a blessing to live in a small town with a sense of community where people actually recognize you as you go about your daily business. I like that aspect of Munising a lot.
What Else?
My site's an ecclectic mixture of the personal and the professional. Just prowl around a bit. You'll get a better sense of Jonathan the person. Thanks for visiting.