Bio: Michelle Dyason

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Bio: Michelle Dyason
29-Jul-02 -- Susan Pichotta
 
This week, the Icetips News Network is pleased to present another South African...
or would that be a Floridian? Originally a chemist, now an independent software developer, she has worked in some really interesting places and has some good stories... not to mention a rather unusual (but really cool) wedding photo.
 
Who do you work for?
I own a company called Shelly PC. This is a new entity in the USA but has been in existence since 1996 in South Africa. Actually since 1987, but we changed names and direction in 96. I recently relocated to Florida and hope that I can make the company successful here.
 
What do you like best about what you do now?
There is a saying that a change is as good as a holiday, so I get quite a lot of holidays, because with every new contract comes a different industry, new people and a different approach is needed to finding the 'best fit' solutions. I tend to make friends out of my customers and have formed many long-standing relationships this way. In other words, what I like best is the people I meet.
 
I also love it when I can introduce a new perspective into a company, just by getting the client to view their data in a different way. It is great to know that you have saved someone time or money.
 
What has been one of your biggest challenges in using Clarion?
ABC and OOP. One of your previous Bios had to be slapped by a wet fish before he understood this. Well I am still trying to find my wet fish. I am changing over, but not as fast as I would like. My legacy coding is reasonably good and I am always tempted to just code something in the old way rather than take the time needed to understand the way it should now be done. Although I must admit it is getting easier the more I apply myself.
 
What has been one of your biggest challenges in business?
Feast or famine. I seem to alternate between 18-hour days and twiddling my thumbs. Ten years ago I was working continuously on a long-term project (9 years of it) and the work was steady and the money dependable - but we were in a niche.
 
In the lean times - that 9 to 5 corporate job looks wonderful, but then something comes along and the same corporate job looks boring.
 
Do you use any computer languages besides Clarion?
No not any more. I learnt and used quite a few different languages long ago, but have not used them, at all, for a number of years now. There are however a few languages I would like to learn, but I never seem to find the time - sound familiar? I do not agree that Clarion is the only language one needs and would be happier if I was proficient in a few other languages.
 
When did you start programming?
At University I learned a number of languages in a mainframe environment, still inputting my programs by card readers. I was interested in, but never really intended, Computer Science to be anything more than a secondary subject.
 
I was working as a chemist in a factory a year or so before IBM PC hit the market. I needed a computer to keep track of chemical formulations and persuaded my boss that I just had to have one. He bought me a portable machine - I do not remember why. It had a 6 inch screen and was bigger than a standard tower desktop machine of today - I struggled to carry it. It had, if I remember correctly 32k Ram and a 5 inch Floppy drive, and ran CPM (Operating system). It was cutting edge technology - Really!
 
We were manufacturing rubber and the batch sizes were always changing. It used to take me 15 to 45 minutes to work out the ingredient amounts for each batch. This was 50% of my work day. It took about 2 weeks for me to write a program to keep and manipulate my formulations and then about 15 to 45 minutes to enter the ingredients for a particular formulation - ONCE. (We had hundreds of different compounds.) After that I could get a printout of any batch size in seconds. Soon all my formulations were in the machine and - Bingo - I had a half-day job. The rest of the management team all wanted me to write programs for them and I became the IT person.
 
At that time I bought myself a Commodore 64 and started moonlighting, writing programs for small businesses. It sounds as though I must have been born in 1926, but actually the computer industry has only been around the last few years.
 
When did you start using Clarion?
In 1989 I was working on a project that I had written in Turbo Basic, where the user interface for each new client had to be redesigned. This took forever and was tedious in Basic. A neighbor of mine was programming in Clarion for Dos and showed me how easy it was to create screens. I was hooked and went out and bought Clarion 2 for Dos.
 
What's the coolest project(s) you've worked on using Clarion?
The one I enjoyed the most was that first project that I used Clarion for. The one mentioned above that lasted for 9 years. This was an energy management system that we developed to switch devices on and off in buildings, in order to save money on electricity. I was thrown in the deep end and was developing early SCADA techniques from scratch. I had to learn what was needed to do the electronic interface design.
 
I also needed to supervise the technicians when interfacing our systems to high voltage (60,000V) systems. I learned more about heavy current and the metering of power than most electricians need to know. I had to create software models for the machinery that we controlled. This system actually won us a design award from the, then, largest power utility corporation in the world. (ESKOM - South Africa's state controlled electricity authority) I found myself giving lectures to groups of electrical engineers on how to run their plants efficiently. Little did they know that whenever I supervised the installation of High Voltage interfaces, I used to run away and hide in some other part of the building while my poor technician switched on. Thank goodness we never blew anything up!
 
However the best part of that project was the fact that we had clients in the Seychelles and Mauritius and I used to go out to these islands about every 4 to 6 months and spend 3 to 5 weeks there. At least a week of that was holiday. I really grew to love Mauritius and its people.
 

Michelle and Michael at their wedding, in the cockpit of a Boeing 747.

 
Have you done anything for a living other than software development?
If you do not count paying my way through University by working as a waitress, my first Job was as a radio operator in the South African Navy. I did this to finance the final year of my BSc by correspondence.
 
My first real job was as an industrial chemist. I do not think I remember anything I learned in the chemical field. Oh! an interesting job was during my University vacations, I worked in the lab on a sewerage farm. It was out of town, lush, green, peaceful and did not smell at all - I enjoyed working there.
 
What are your hobbies/what do you like to do when you're not using Clarion?
For a long time my first love was Scuba Diving, and I was a part time instructor for many years. In the last decade or so, this has been replaced by sailing and snow skiing. The most difficult possession to sell (psychologically speaking) when we left South Africa last year was our 23 ft sailboat.
 
I love being outdoors and am really enjoying the Florida beaches and sunshine.
 
Married, children, grandchildren, other close family you want to mention?
Michael and I got married last year, but have lived together for many years. The accompanying picture shows Michael and I at our wedding, in the cockpit of a Boeing 747. We got married on the plane when we left South Africa last year, and as far as we can find out, we are the first people to ever do this. My husband is very romantic and he planned the whole thing and had it organized before asking me to marry him.
 
I have a wonderful stepdaughter, Mia, who is married, with an 8-year-old son. They live in Cape town.
 
I also have two brothers - Owen still lives in Johannesburg - South Africa, while Ronnie lives on a Caribbean Island. My extended family, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces etc. is huge.
 
Where were you born?
Johannesburg, South Africa. I spent most of my life there except for the 9 years I lived in Cape Town. I think Cape Town must be one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Johannesburg has a wonderful climate and is very green in the summer, but near the end of winter, it must be one of the ugliest places in the world. The winters are very dry and there are many veld fires, making the open veld and even the grassed areas in the city all black, sooty and smelly.
 
The best thing about Johannesburg is that it is only about 2 hours drive from 'the Berg' this is the Drakensburg mountain range and it contains my 'favoritist' place in the world - the 'Royal Natal National Park'. The main feature of the area is the Amphitheatre, a rock wall about 5 km in length, and approximately 500 metres in height, with the highest peak on top, Mont-aux-Sources (3282 m), meaning the "mountain of springs" (see photo at end). This is the place where I used to refuel my soul. I am going to have to find a similar place in the USA. Maybe in Georgia?
 
Where do you live now?
Hallandale, Florida.
 
 
What's interesting about where you live?
Boats and boating. This is a land of water, bridges, water, boats, water. OH! And Sunshine and friendly open people, and did I mention the water. We have only been here since September and still have much exploring to do.
 
Have you lived any other interesting places?
I once spent 3 months in St Maartin in the Netherlands Antilles, working as crew on a ferry. Does that count? This is an interesting and very beautiful part of the world and the sailing is fantastic.
 
Which person, from past or present, do you most admire and why?
Top of my list - probably because I watched and lived the whole saga of him being released and coming to power, and amazing the whole world with his wisdom and statesmanship would be Nelson Mandela.
 
After him, I think a whole host of scientists who did much to further the scope of human knowledge. I am thinking of people like Newton, Curie, Da Vinci, Archimedes - Yes I know this is and odd mix - but you asked. :)
 
What is your favorite food?
Most types of fish. My husband is a much better cook than me and fish is his specialty. However, generally if it's edible, I love it.
 
What is your favorite drink?
Red wine, coffee and sparkling water. (One at a time).
 
What is your favorite type of music?
I am afraid I am not very knowledgeable when it comes to music, but I do enjoy classical and then the music from the musical shows of the 60s and 70s.
 
What is your favorite book? Movie?
I love the escapist stuff. Science fiction or fantasy. My favorite author is Isaac Asimov and my favorite movie is probably Star wars (all of them).
 
I go to movies as often as I am able and a movie has to be extremely bad before I do not enjoy it.
 
If Clarion never existed, what do you think you would be doing at this time?
What I would really like to be is a sailing instructor in summer and a skiing instructor in winter. But that's not the question. I would probably be doing pretty much the same thing as I do now, but would be using some other language.
 

Tendele with amphitheatre in background - South Africa