I’m Micah and this week I joined Stormpath as a Developer Evangelist, supporting Java and the JVM.

In this new role, I get to do some of my most favorite activities as my job: coding, pairing with other developers and writing. I am part of a growing team of software engineers who not only write code, but get to express all that nerdy goodness through interactions in the developer community.

About me

I developed an interest in computers right at the beginning of the personal computer revolution when I was in 6th grade. I first played with CBM PETs in school (pop quiz: What does PET stand for? No googling! Answer below). My first home computer was a Commodore Vic-20. Then a Commodore 64 and even the rare SX-64 (LOAD"*",8,1 – anyone?).

After learning what I was doing with my 300 baud modem and phreaking tools, my parents sought a less felonious outlet for my interest. My father, a dentist, purchased an Osbourne 1 (CP/M for the win!) and had me help him automate his office.

Since then, my love affair with technology has continued to develop and evolve.

I’ve had a wide ranging career working at the Syfy Channel for its first online presence, large banks and insurance companies including JP Morgan Chase and Metlife, and startups.

The two primary themes throughout have been my love of APIs and information security. My recent code kata on spreadsheet column name conversion exercises both algorithmic thinking and creating APIs.

I’m very proud of my password generator program, Passable, both as an iOS app (sorry Android!) and as a Google Chrome extension.

The code for these projects (and others) are on my github page.

I’m a maker at heart, whether it’s refurbishing a Dark Tower game or building out a MAME arcade cabinet.

Jumping at Stormpath

While I love writing, my last blog post on my personal site was back in 2013. I co-authored a book in 2006. I published articles in the 2000’s in Java Developer’s Journal and Dr. Dobbs, among others.

When I saw the Developer Evangelist position at Stormpath, I jumped at it! Getting to work with some of the top security people in the world, engaging with other developers, developing software to support other developers and writing are all baked into the work. Somebody pinch me – I must be dreaming!

What I’ll Be Working On

I’ll be focusing on making the experience of using Java and Stormpath more awesomer (technical term) than it already is. It’s an exciting time to be working in Java. The addition of a functional style of programming to the language, lambdas and the stream api have totally revitalized the Java language and community. The breadth of frameworks is remarkable, and you can now setup a fully functional MVC, single page, websocket enabled app in seconds using tools like Spring Boot or Dropwizard. Never before has Java been so accessible and I am excited to work with you on integrating Stormpath into your stack.

I am so psyched that Stormpath exists! The audacity to take on such a critical facet of the technology landscape makes me excited and a little queasy at the same time (in a good way).

How I See Stormpath

For you Java #nerds out there, Stormpath is a little like spinning up your own threads. Sure, the language has syntax to do it, but the container does it much better and safer than your or I ever could. So, I’ll rely on my handy container to manage concurrency and I will focus on the task at hand.

Likewise, while you could roll your own security layer and (hopefully) use best-practices, Stormpath does it better. All you need to do is break out your handy REST API skills and you’re all set.

Part of my role here – and my passion – is to be here for YOU, the Software Engineer. Feel free to reach out to me at: micah@stormpath.com. I am looking forward to meeting online and in person!

BTW, PET = Personal Electronic Transactor