Solid Clues Consulting

Welcome to Solid Clues Consulting.

Currently Solid Clues Consulting consists of one guy and some computer equipment, which is approximately what it has usually been. To avoid the pretentious business 'we' I will introduce myself:

Hi, I'm Bill Cole and this is my semi-dormant freelance geekery business.

What Solid Clues Consulting does...

Currently I am between contracts and looking for work. I have a general resume available. My main interest is electronic mail - especially spam control and its evil twin, deliverability - but in 17 years of working for large and small organizations I've built a broad repertoire of specific IT skills and knowledge related to infrastructure services and tools, security, administration of multiple varieties of Unix (including Linux and MacOS X,) networking, and policy.

Since relocating from St. Louis to Detroit in 1998 I've allowed the spinning down of my consulting business, and I've mostly been focusing on my 'day jobs.' I've also been doing occasional work for existing clients, but that has dwindled to virtually nothing. The business isn't dead, it's just been sleeping, and while I'm available as a hired gun, I am actively seeking full-time work and it would take something really special to get me interested in anything short and/or speculative.

As for the specifics of what I have done or might do to acquire the coveted dollars, you can see my recent 'day jobs' in my resume and if you dig deeply enough into the rather dated 'virtual job interview' you can see some of what I have done as a freelance and what really interests me in work. The short version of the business description:

Solid Clues Consulting provides high-technology expertise and services to small and mid-sized organizations.

Like all mission statements, that says very little. So I'll list a few things I've done:

• Policy development for employers and ISP's., particularly in regards to AUP's, bulk mailing, spam control, and general security.
• Security auditing
• Unbiased strategic IT advice
• Unix, Linux, and MacOS server administration.
• Web development: All phases from design and planning to HTML and Perl CGI coding. Focused on sites where functionality and accessibility are overriding concerns.
• Networked systems design. Beyond pure web systems, I have planned and implemented small to mid-sized integrated systems for e-mail, web-based intranet, and multi-platform file and print sharing services.
• Truly independent systems consultation. I have never accepted any special deals with hardware or software vendors. Beyond avoiding a conflict of interest that many consultants seem undisturbed by, this has allowed me to act as a 'pure consultant,' advising clients on proposals from other vendors and doing 'sanity checks' on internal plans.
• Small scale custom software development.
• More oddball little projects than I care to think about...

Enough already... This is starting to read like a sales pitch for my freelance works, and it really isn't. I've just gotten tired of people asking what scconsult.com is, so there it is. If you have an extremely interesting project you need help on and think I might like it, feel free to e-mail me, but be warned that I'm likely to pass on it (and if you send spam I'll cheerfully do my best to have your access eliminated.) I am not altogether closed to the idea of a short-term contract gig, but I really want a little stability right now.

(yes, that DOES mean that if your cool idea is on spec or working for minimum wage plus stock options, you can forget it)

If I'm such a web developer, why are there no graphics here?

It's really very simple: they would add little but load time. There is certainly a place for flashy imagery on the web. I love flashy imagery. It just isn't what this page is about.

If you want to send me spam, send it here instead.