To let you know a bit about myself, I am a SCADA engineer who lives in Calgary, Alberta. I will describe what a SCADA engineer is later.

I was born way back in February 2, 1968. I grew up in the Town of Strathmore in Southeastern Alberta. I attended university both at the University of Calgary and at the University of Alberta where I obtained my degree in electrical engineering. I hope to attain an M.Eng. degree in Electrical Engineering one of these years.

My current employer is MR Controls. MR Controls works on SCADA projects for the electrical industry, oil and gas industry, and for water processing systems. SCADA stands for Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition. Essentially this refers to automation systems that merge software and control systems. Software, in combination with remote controllers (such as PLCs and DCSs) and sensors, is used to monitor and control the state of a factory, chemical plant, water processing plant, pipeline, or electrical substation. For pipeline companies, it is critical to know how much energy is flowing through each pipeline so that they can bill customers. SCADA gives these companies the data they need. It's actually cooler than it sounds since you deal with many techical aspects both with software and database systems but also with the engineering systems that are being monitored. This is a perfect profession for me since I like technology whether it pertains to chemical systems, electrical engineering, or software design. The more cynical among you would say that I am unfocussed but in my current profession, you need to be a master of many tasks.

My interests include tennis, curling, and canoeing/kayaking. It helps that I have part ownership in a small cabin at Gull Lake by Lacombe in central Alberta. It is a relatively quiet lake where canoeing and kayaking are very enjoyable.

You can e-mail me at my email address - bchriste(at)shaw(dot)ca and introduce yourself. Better yet, I set up a blog - www(dot)blueandgreencanuck(dot)blogspot(dot)com - in September, 2005. If you have the time, navigate to my blog and offer some opinions.