George Ruzek is an independent consultant and teacher specializing in server-side software development. George first started programming graphics and sound at age 13 on an Atari 800, and later on a Commodore Amiga. He then attended Virginia Commonwealth University, majoring in Electronic Music. After graduating with a B.S. in Math specializing in Computer Science, George went to work at Fannie Mae. He spent his time there writing software in C, C++, and Visual C++ on Windows and Unix, and Objective-C on NeXTSTEP. He then went to work at BLaCKSMITH (http://www.blacksmith.com) in McLean, Virginia, where he learned WebObjects from the great software engineers there. As a Director at BLaCKSMITH, George became familiar with a number of server-side technologies and frameworks. Because of his early adoption of Java at BLaCKSMITH, he was given the nickname "Java George." When not in front of a computer, George spends his time with his kids or playing the piano. He's also a true video game junkie. George can be reached by e-mail at java_george@pobox.com.