Bio
My name is Don Yacktman, and I’d like to take the opportunity to welcome you to my home. So…
Welcome to my home!
First things first, this Don Yacktman is not the famous mutual fund manager from Chicago. He is, however, Don Jr., the son of said mutual fund manager. Don Jr. does maintain the web pages for The Yacktman Fund, but is not involved with the funds in any other way. On this page you will find information about the computer programmer named Donald A. Yacktman, Jr.
Who Am I?
I received a Master’s degree (MS) from Brigham Young University (in December 1994). I was married to my wife, Marcie S. Yacktman, on August 5, 1995. A copy of one of the engagement pictures is available here. We don’t exactly look like that any more, though. As of June 11, 2004, we now can officially call ourselves parents. Our first child’s name is Joseph Arthur Yacktman.
We’re also beginning the process of designing and building a new home. A lot in Eagle Mountain, UT (in The Ranches), has already been purchased, but we don’t yet know when construction will begin. (Our house plans are basically completed now, though.) Marcie’s brother Bret, whose lot is adjacent to ours, has finished construction on his little castle, and her parents (next to Bret) are also done building their home. We hope we can start soon!
I’m the oldest of seven kids, with four brothers and two sisters. They are, in descending order of age, Steve, Jenny, Missy, Brian, Robby, and Mike. In 2004, Jenny had a massive stroke, and we’re all praying for her recovery. If you want to learn more about how she’s doing, I’ve set up a web site (jennylynn.org) where our family can keep up to date with her progress.
Projects
I spend my days working for illumineX, inc and am a part-owner. Whatever I’m working on at the moment is probably top-secret. Just the same, be sure to check out the Mac OS X games and screensavers I’ve created for illumineX. We’re continuously adding to the list and improving what’s already been released. If you have Mac OS X do yourself a favor and stop by!
In the spring of 2005, illumineX acquired Freshly Squeezed Software, another producer of software for Mac OS X. Be sure to check out those products, too. There’s some neat stuff and we’re working hard to make it even better.
Other projects include the MiscKit, a collection of NEXTSTEP/Objective-C objects which may be freely used, even in commercial apps. The GameKit, a collection of Cocoa-specific objects for building games rapidly, is still in progress. (At the moment, it is being used by illumineX and is not available to the public. Sorry!) I was also one of the authors of the book Cocoa Programming.
I am sometimes available as a consultant to help you out with Cocoa programming projects. If you want to have me work as a consultant for you on some special project that you have to get finished yesterday, give illumineX a call. The rates are quite reasonable, and we work hard to make sure that our customers are happy with our work. One of the projects I’ve worked on as a consultant was the new user interface introduced in the OpenBase 8 Manager app. To find out more, check out OpenBase International.
I’m also a reseller of web hosting from Verio. I used to work for them, so I know my way around the products pretty well (and I still think that they’re some of the best web hosting solutions anywhere). If you need a discount on a virtual server for a basic web site, let me know. But if you want to host WebObjects applications, don’t use Verio. If you want a pleasant WebObjects experience, you should contact a specialist. I may be biased, but I think that the best one has to be illumineX. All WebObjects hosting plans, even the relatively inexpensive shared hosting plans, are custom tailored to match your application(s) needs!
Hobbies
Some of my favorite hobbies include watching Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies, Animaniacs, and dumb movies, preferably on DVD or LaserDisc. While I love humor, I do also enjoy the Stargate SG-1 television series quite a bit.
I also do a lot with music. I like playing keyboards and guitar, arranging and composing music, being a mobile DJ, and ballroom dancing. Oh, and I also happen to be the organist and choir accompianist in church.
Given that I write computer games, it should come as no surprise that I have collected many game consoles (and plenty of games for them). The sad truth is that lately I lack the time to play them very much. My console collection includes an actual Atari 2600, a SNES, a Sega Genesis and Dreamcast, an N64, a GameCube, an original PlayStation and a PlayStation 2. There’s also a couple of hand helds — a Sega GameGear and an original Gameboy.
I am also a roller coaster and theme park enthusiast. As you might guess, my all-time favorite PC game so far is RollerCoaster Tycoon. If you want to see things I have done with the game, check out my RCT2 pages. You might also spot me as “yackd” in some of the RCT related forums. Be sure to say hi!
Biases
In some areas I have rather strong opinions and biases. I think it’s fair to let you know about a few of them, since these things certainly color my opinions on some topics:
- My family is awesome — full of incredible people with a wide variety of talents.
- Spammers really, really suck.
- Telemarketers really, really suck.
- Monopolies — no matter what the industry — suck.
- Microsoft Windows sucks.
- Apple computers are pretty darned nice.
- Apple’s Cocoa programming environment is one of the best available, if not the best.
- I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (also known as “Mormons”).
- I am an Eagle scout.
- It seems I’m in a continuous state of sleep deprivation, and that sucks.