Susan Prosser (coauthor) saw FileMaker for the first time as a reporter, where the database ran the paper’s classified ads. That first glimpse tempted her to a new career helping people organize and manage their data. Susan’s first professional database is still used at the US Fish & Wildlife Service nearly twenty years on. Since then, Susan formed DBHQ (www.dbhq.net), which has used FileMaker to help a semiconductor company manage legal documents, a financial advisor analyze retirement programs, an NGO track providers of autism services to school districts, a dart manufacturer track inventory/sales and a major bank track projections. One of the first FileMaker Certified Developers, Susan has presented at FileMaker DevCon and develops FileMaker training curricula. Susan tends her organic garden, quilts, bakes sourdough bread, and tries to log 110+ miles per week on her bike. Susan and husband Paul share their home with one semi-feral cat, one Vespa, and eight bicycles. Send suggestions for achieving a balanced lifestyle or new names for graph organization schemes to susanprosser@gmail.com. Follow prosserDBHQ on twitter.
Stuart Gripman (coauthor) is a native of Akron, Ohio, who grew up in suburban Orange County before migrating to San Francisco to get out of the sun. After a two-year stint at FileMaker Inc. (née Claris Corporation), he became Webmaster at StarNine Technologies. In 2000, Stuart founded Crooked Arm Consulting to provide custom FileMaker databases for a wide variety of clientele. Crooked Arm’s databases have since benefitted the U.S. space program, fine art patrons, system administrators, digital projection cinemas, vintners, oenophiles, data recovery practitioners, architects, commercial artists, and a Grammy-winning ensemble. Stuart enjoys spending time with his wife and son hiking, camping, cycling, playing Legos, and baking snickerdoodles. Email: stuart@crookedarm.com. Blog: http://whosthebarber.blogspot.com.
Nan Barber (editor) is associate editor for the Missing Manual series. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and iMac. Email: nanbarber@gmail.com.
Adam Zaremba (production editor) recently received his M.A. from the Editorial Institute at Boston University. He lives in Chestnut Hill, Mass., and would gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.
Alison O’Byrne (copy editor) is a full-time freelance editor with over eight years experience specializing in corporate and government projects for international clients. She lives with her family in Dublin, Ireland. Email: alison@alhaus.com. Web: www.alhaus.com.
Christian Smith (technical reviewer) is a FileMaker 7/8/9/10 Certified Developer and a member of FileMaker Business Alliance, FileMaker Technical Network, and FMPug. Web: www.m3web.com.
Angela Howard (indexer) has been indexing for over 10 years, mostly for computer books, but occasionally for books on other topics such as travel, alternative medicine, and leopard geckos. She lives in California with her husband, daughter, and two cats.
As usual, everyone at O’Reilly has been wonderful—special thanks to Angela Howard, Karen Shaner, and Alison O’Byrne. If there is any sanity in this book, it’s due to Nan Barber, who excels at checking reality when things get tough. Tech reviewers often do thankless work under incredible deadlines. I can’t change the deadline part, but want to thank Christian Smith. Your thoughtful comments helped us make the book better. Stuart, our collaboration was everything I hoped it would be. We must agree to partake in adult beverages at DevCon and speak about the glamorous lives of famous authors. Do we know any? Jamie, Joe, Krys, Erich, Chanelle and Paul: Without my weekly meetings with you amazing, creative people I would be a puddle of dripping goo by now. Paul: You put up with much, my good man. Thank you, dear. Marlowe: I miss you every day, darling parrot.
—Susan Prosser
I wish to express most sincere thanks to my coauthor Susan Prosser. I appreciate your leap of faith in inviting me into this project, your guidance and patience as I learned the process and most of all, the good humor that sustained me through the challenges along the way. Many thanks also to editor Nan Barber for giving me the latitude to write with my own voice and diplomatically applying her wisdom when that voice needed some modulation. My thanks also to our technical reviewer Christian Smith, and all the kind, hard-working folks at O’Reilly—Alison O’Byrne, Angela Howard, and Karen Shaner in particular. Thank you David Pogue, not only for the Missing Manual series, but also for being so nice to me the last time we spoke (in 1997 when you called for FileMaker tech support and I was the agent who assisted you). I’m also deeply grateful to my parents Floyd and Sally, my sisters, and my entire extended family for your support and enthusiasm. And most of all my beloved wife, Jen, and our boy, Benjamin. Thank you for your sustaining support, love, and patience. Benny, I love the robot you made for me. Thanks, Buddy.
—Stuart Gripman
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