About Craig Simon
Craig Simon is a database application specialist and an independent scholar. He programs in various flavors of SQL, preferring .net tools for desktop apps and PHP/Javascript for the web. His academic interests include IR Theory, US Foreign Policy, Globalization, and the Cold War. Craig has written about a variety of topics, including Internet Governance, object oriented programming, and Freestyle, a flying disc sport he still plays. Craig lives in Dania Beach, Florida.
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Database Application Specialist
I began working as a freelance computer consultant in 1988, building desktop applications with DataPerfect. I transitioned to Delphi in the mid 1990s and later to vb.net. In 2007 I decided to synthesize my political studies and my programming skills to create a web-based "civic software" application. My hope is that it that might someday serve as an online venue for "collaborative expression of converging and diverging opinion." Initially hosted at Indaba.org, the first phase is now running at ChoiceRanker.com.Craig Lyle Simon. Ph.D.
I earned an MA in International Studies from the University of Miami in 1987 and reached ABD (an important step toward a Ph.D.) the following year, but dropped out soon after that. Nearly a decade later, however, various powers-that-be within the University enticed me to return. I picked a new dissertation topic and worked on it intermittently until late 2005, when I cut back my consulting practice and dedicated myself to completing. My research concerned the administration of the Internet's core resources and the implications for global politics, focusing on the privatization of the Domain Name System as a case study. The following links go to my curriculum vita and a statement about my current research.flywheel, rkey, and indaba
The first name I owned was flywheel.com. I still use the moniker flywheel as my webname at various blogs and social networking sites. The name rkey is just a self-coined word. I was looking for something as short as possible with the phrase "key" in it. Indaba is Zulu for "important meeting." I had recommended using it as an acronym for "Internet Delegations and Assignments Board," during the 1998 discussions lead up to the creation of a new Internet oversight body, but the title Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) was chosen instead. The idea of a web-based Indaba continues to intrigue and inspire me.Freestyle
I'm a charter member of the Freestyle Players Association. I still compete sometimes, but my official ranking is descending steadily as a new generation of European players rises in the sport. I got involved while living in beautiful Santa Cruz, California, a frisbee mecca on the Pacific coast between San Francisco and Monterey. That's where I learned to brush and delay, and throw lots of zees. I toured with the Flying Aces during that time, and wrote a book, Frisbie: Beyond Catch and Throw.