[ARCHIVE] Get to know your fellow coder

[ober]

[b]This topic has been left archived and replaced with an introduction board. If you wish to introduce yourself, please create a new, separate topic.[/b]

[hr]

I think it's time we got personal around here.  There's a lot of code swapping and a few members know a little more about the others, but the vast majority of us are nothing but coders passing in the night. 

Share a little bit about yourself, something that few know or even a hobby of yours that is probably not something normal about the average coder.  And don't share your entire life story.  If you want to give a lot of details about your life, spread it out over a few posts as you learn more about the others.

I'll go first:

I'm 26, been married for 2.5 years and my first kid is on the way.  I've played baseball, softball, and basketball growing up, but I recently moved and haven't found a team to play on in any of those sports yet.  All my recent time has been spent getting ready for the baby, working on my house, and working both at my main job and for my side business.

Next!

[.josh]

i'm 28.  married for 7 years. 3 boys and another on the way, due in feb next year.  not sure if it's a boy or girl though.  last ultrasound they couldn't tell. I'm hoping it's a girl.

i spend most of my time working at hardees or spending time with my family.  computer related stuff is just kinda on the side as a hobby.  I enjoy piddling around in flash and with php mostly. 

There really isn't a whole lot to me.  I try to live my life as simply as possible.  I believe in God and just try to live life simply, not trying to really make a name for myself or gain anything in particular. 

p.s.- i'm not really a midget i was joking.

[AndyB]

OK, I'll go second (oops, too slow). I'll got third.

I'll be 62 next week. Been married for 39 years, 5 kids all grown up with the two youngest still at Univ. of Toronto (none of them living at home!), plus 5 grandchildren. I'm a professional engineer, working in civil/environmental consulting, and I've had offshore assignments in China twice, in South America, and a nine-month stint in the Caribbean, as well as travelled across Canada for short-term assignments. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.  Mostly, I manage projects with construction value up to $90 million, and mentor the younger engineers. I sit on my provincial engineering association's Professional Standards Committee so ... better behave yourself if you practice here :)

Many years ago, I wrote kids' software for the Apple computer and sold it all in exchange for royalties (woot - 6502 assembler) - a total of six products.  Been clunking around with web stuff for about 10 years as a hobby, paying hobby.

[obsidian]

[quote author=ober link=topic=112560.msg456906#msg456906 date=1161713473]
I'm 26, been married for 2.5 years and my first kid is on the way.
[/quote]

Ober, congrats, man! I've got two, and we're hoping for a third. Enjoy the coding time you have now, because kids definitely change the time equation a bit ;).

Well, I'm 26. I've been married 5 years. As I just said, I've got two kids: a daughter that will be 5 in March and a son that will be 2 in December. I'm American through and through, but I grew up overseas, so I still find some of the east coast quirks a bit amusing. I love playing football and volleyball, but as Ober alluded, there is very little time to do those currently. I actually do make a living off of my coding. I work full time as the lead web developer for a university here in South Carolina, and I do quite a bit (15-20 hours/wk) of freelancing work on the side. My uncle has been working in DCIT at Clemson university for years, and he sort of got me started with my interest in web programming. I did BASIC programming through high school, and besides college level Java, C++ and Database Management courses, I'm self-taught.

I'm looking to [i]officially[/i] launch my freelancing business by the first of the year, so be ready for some critique requests from me before too much longer ;)

[redbullmarky]

tis amazing how much but how little you know people when you've been sharing forum wisdom for ages...

i'm 26, born and bred in Birmingham (England) but living in Bedfordshire nowadays with my better half and two kids - one is 3 (gf's from a previous), the other 7mths.

i've been self-employed for 5 of my 8yr work history, currently as Director of a Construction (civil/structural/housing) agency but most of my time goes into my web work be it for our company or otherwise. However, when all that's out the way, I enjoy writing/recording music and spending quality time with the family and watching the boys grow up, drinking copious amounts of Fosters with a couple of Marlboro lights to go with it...*cough*

[redbullmarky]

[quote author=obsidian link=topic=112560.msg456927#msg456927 date=1161715553]
Ober, congrats, man! I've got two, and we're hoping for a third. Enjoy the coding time you have now, because kids definitely change the time equation a bit ;).
[/quote]
ditto! will turn your world upside down in more ways than you'll ever know, but totally for the better. and obsidian, you couldnt have put that last bit better. before the most recent one arrived, it was pretty peaceful and easy enough - now i tend to work til small hours in the morning or just about any other hour i can snatch :)

good luck, and enjoy it. sincerely.

cheers
Mark

[AndyB]

quick note to all you younger parents .... eventually you do get the keys to your car back.

[ober]

Thanks all, for the comments and such.  I didn't realize so many of you had kids!  I honestly don't know how you guys do it, because I'm finding it hard to get "me time" right now and the kid isn't even here!  I've always needed a fair amount of time to myself... just because that's how I am.

Working on the side has always been there for me.  I've always repaired computers, fixed software glitches, etc etc.  The weird thing is, I didn't really touch the stuff until college.  My parents bought a computer when I was a junior in high school, but I never really thought about programming on it.  The closest I got to programming was modifying autoexec.bat files for my games in DOS to use a little more memory.  Wow that seems like forever ago.

I work for a growing company in the medical industry, cranking out trial after trial for new drugs.  We're currently in the top 5 or maybe the top 3 in our industry and we're poised to take the lead in the future if we can shorten our development cycle.  Unfortunately, I'm not really in the development team.  That part of our staff is in another state and is part of a company that we bought since their software was better than ours.  (Long story).  But I do some custom Java work and write a lot of data-cleaning logic into the trials, so I get a small amount of programming fix during the work day.

I do hope to eventually open my own business fulltime, but my problem is the lack of ability to get through the days where I come in here and screw off.  You can't do that with your own business and I'm not there yet.

[ober]

haha... thanks for the tip Andy ;)

[cmgmyr]

I guess I'll tell a little bit of my story. Right now my life is pretty hectic. I'm 21 years old, I work full time as a Systems Manager handling all the IT work, taking 3 classes at night, playing in 2 bands, and running my own web business on the side (which lately I have been swamped!). Sleep!?!? What's that?

I've always been into technology and music, they have always been my true loves. I play drums in the 2 bands but I also play guitar, bass, piano, and other misc stuff along the way. I am a total gear head! I have about $30,000 worth of musical stuff that I have accumulated over the years ;D But I would sell my kidneys before I gave any of that up.

I got into programming in high school like 5-6 years ago and haven't stopped some of my favorites are PHP/MySQL (obviously), VB .NET, and C++/Java (pretty much the same)

Just trying to live it up as much as possible right now...you never know when it's going to end so live today like it was your last.

Let me know if you wanna chat music or gear sometime.

Later,
-Chris

PS, Single, no kids...Maybe someday  ;)

[redbullmarky]

[quote author=ober link=topic=112560.msg456948#msg456948 date=1161717239]
...but my problem is the lack of ability to get through the days where I come in here and screw off.  You can't do that with your own business and I'm not there yet.
[/quote]
how do you mean?

[quote author=cmgmyr link=topic=112560.msg456951#msg456951 date=1161717466]
I have about $30,000 worth of musical stuff that I have accumulated over the years ;D But I would sell my kidneys before I gave any of that up.
[/quote]
to a non musician, that sounds like madness. but as the owner of a genuine Gibson Les Paul that I wanted ever since seeing it in Sweet Child O' Mine, and gettin one after 15 years of dreaming, I fully understand :)

[jvrothjr]

Have not been around posting as long as you all, but here is a lil about me.

36 Years old, 2 kids (1 more on the way) 5 year old - Son, 2 year old - Daughter. and the worse half ... lol. Not married mmmm maybe thats why lol.  anyway

Started coding back on the C64 as a hobby and to this day still a hobby.

First home PC was a TRS-80 from radio shack......   

Company gave me a TITLE Admin-Cad Programer but still dont credit form coding...... so its just a title.

Stated php/mysql about 3 years again Developed and deployed two INTER Company websites.
But my background core is still VB ..... the catch for me was started with VB converted to ASP in testing and ended up on php.

Working with VB/php/mysql/lisp/scr

My biggest project upcomming is converting VB programs to php web pages. Not looking forward to that year project and they want it dont yesterday....lol go figure

And all you guys have helped me along the Way. Thanks.

Dont get  to spend much time on here any more.....

[neylitalo]

I'm 18 years old and I'm from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan - some people say it's one of the most remote places in the lower 48. They tell me I got my start in the computer world when I was a baby - my uncle was playing a flight simulator game, paused it to go to the bathroom, and I hopped up on his chair and landed his plane for him. My parents swear it's true, but I'm sure they're exaggerating somewhere.

I've been developing PHP software for about 3 years now, and I'm currently working on software for some rather large hotels in the Los Angeles, CA area. I'm currently working on a degree in Computer Science at Michigan Technological University, and have intentions to go back for a Masters in Business Administration.

[Zane]

wow..this is an interesting thread
well for my turn.

I'm 20 years old. I'm from the farthest west city you can go in North Carolina.  For those of you who watch the news, it's the city where they caught [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Robert_Rudolph]Eric Rudolph[/url] (one of the Top Ten Most Wanted)
The first time I remember really soaking myself into a computer was with an old Gateway2k running Windows 3.1 Never thought I would be making anything useful on one though.  By the time high school rolled around I could take them apart and troubleshoot whatever as well as make some sort of cheesy website with Homestead/Geocities/Angelfire/ or Tripod.  I can't even remember how I found PHP.  I guess I just knew that I needed a way to create a form and found the best way and wala.

I go to a Community College aiming towards a Computer Technology Systems degree and am struggling through the welcome path to the "real world."  I speak English and Spanish..(thanks to 10 years of dedication) and I like to party and get ~retarded.

[effigy]

I'm 25 and girlfriended; I have two cats. I work in the printing industry outside of Chicago. My daily dealings are with Unix, Perl, XML/XSLT, custom software, and sometimes a dash of Postscript. I've also started some internal web development recently. Outside of work I spend my time biking, wandering, reading, pondering, and practicing the drums, accordion, piano, and musical saw.

[akitchin]

interesting that so many of you have children.  as ober said, i've no idea how you guys do it.

i'm 21 and girlfriended (thanks effigy), in year 3 of a chemistry degree program at the u of calgary.  no programming, but i'm enjoying it a great deal.  i'm hoping to go into grad school eventually, once i've had some time out of school.  i swim with a masters league, with hopes to make my final year at school a varsity swimming year.  i've been swimming for 13 odd years now, so i don't think i'll give it up anytime soon.  programming pays the bills, albeit sporadically, and i enjoy creating an application from a basic foundation and seeing it work.  it's a great sense of achievement.  i picked up PHP/MySQL in the summer after high school as an alternative to getting a job, and lo and behold, it became my job.

for anyone who knows chemistry, i'm mostly a fan of physical chemistry (in particular quantum mechanics and photochemistry).  i also really like polymer and bio/pharmaco chemistry.  i know, i'm a nerd.

finally, i dig camping, furry animals (have a cat) and the occasional alcohol raid so my liver doesn't get too high and mighty on me.  it may have enzymes, but i ultimately have control.  plus, i'm young - god knows how much longer i can avoid responsibility.

[cmgmyr]

[quote author=akitchin link=topic=112560.msg457164#msg457164 date=1161745346]
girlfriended (thanks effigy)[/quote]

Thats awesome, it sounds like some sort of plague or sickness or something. I've been "girlfriended" for a while but I got out of it a short time ago, and as I said previously I'm trying to make it out in the single world...luckily business is good ;)


Another little side note: my first website was for my first "real" band in middle school and it was on Geocities. *Pukes* O well it was fun...but I learned quickley geocities was NOT the way to go...

[obsidian]

[quote author=neylitalo link=topic=112560.msg457099#msg457099 date=1161729125]
They tell me I got my start in the computer world when I was a baby - my uncle was playing a flight simulator game, paused it to go to the bathroom, and I hopped up on his chair and landed his plane for him. My parents swear it's true, but I'm sure they're exaggerating somewhere.
[/quote]

Wow. That's funny. If I went as far back as my first computer experience, it would be similar... When I was 4, we had a [url=http://www.99er.net/ti.shtml]Texas Instruments TI99/4A[/url] complete with cassette backups and a few little games like [i]Hunt the Wumpus[/i] and [i]Parsec[/i]. Don't ask me how I still remember those details when the rest of my 4th year of life is a blur ;) . Anyway, on my fifth birthday, I found a guide to programming games in basic, and my parents said I spent the better part of 6 hours sitting with the manual copying character by character (since I couldn't read very well yet) onto the TV screen. By the end of the day, I had a little stick figure kicking an ASCII football through the uprights. :P

I'm also a little surprised at the number of us with children on here. I guess I am guilty of falling into the typical mindset of the "bachelor geeks" for programmers lol. I also find it interesting how many of you have serious music interests. I actually minored in music in college, and I find every spare minute I can to tinker around on my guitar and piano, too. I wish I had more time, though. I have a few song ideas I came up with in college I've never been able to put entirely down on paper :(

[jcombs_31]

Ok, I'm 27, live in Fort Lauderdale, FL.  I have now been married just over 2 years and have a 17 month old boy. (was not a shotgun marriage ;)).  I never had a computer growing up, but was facinated by them and would sometimes visit my dad and play games on his computer.  After graduating High School I got my first computer and couldn't really get off of it. While in community college and working as a custodian/yardman for the school board, I decided to persue a career in computers.  I graduated almost two years ago with my B.S. in Computer Information Systems and have worked as an IT Specialist for the school board for about 5 years.  I recently started my own side business (http://www.multimedia-technologies.com) because I found that I love web development and sometimes get misc. computer related side jobs (networking, OS repair).  I was a good artist as a child and recently started to get the craving to learn graphic design.  I'm currently putting in lots of practice in creating baby #2. :)

[effigy]

[quote author=obsidian link=topic=112560.msg456927#msg456927 date=1161715553]
...I grew up overseas...
[/quote]
Where? What did you like/dislike about it?

[quote author=cmgmyr link=topic=112560.msg456951#msg456951 date=1161717466]
Let me know if you wanna chat music or gear sometime.
[/quote]
Have you tried electronic drums?

[cmgmyr]

[quote author=effigy link=topic=112560.msg457398#msg457398 date=1161786092]
[quote author=cmgmyr link=topic=112560.msg456951#msg456951 date=1161717466]
Let me know if you wanna chat music or gear sometime.
[/quote]
Have you tried electronic drums?
[/quote]

Yeah I have tried a few of them. The problem is, is that do get a decent sound...you need to pay A LOT of money. The ones that I'm looking at now are Roland TD-12S: V-Stage Series (http://www.rolandus.com/products/productdetails.aspx?ObjectId=659&ParentId=60). These and the Studio series have the best feeling pads (get better bounce off of them) and the brain is a lot better. But all good things come at a price, the Stage series is about $3,200-$3,800 depending on where you find it. I think the studio is $5,000+ (which is way too much for me). Hopefully I can get the Stage series within a year. (Sometimes I want to practice at like 2 in the morning and I can't because I don't want to piss the neighbors off :) so the electronic ones would be good.)

For acoustic drum sets I have 2:
The first one (my baby) is a Mapex Orion Classic which is polished black with gold and silver hardware. It looks SWEET!
(old pics but you get the idea)
[img]http://chrisgmyr.com/kickax/images/equip/front.jpg[/img] [img]http://chrisgmyr.com/kickax/images/equip/middle.jpg[/img] This is a 10+ piece kit (not fully set up in the picture)

The other one is a Tama swingstar that I picked up real cheap and use it as a practice/beater kit. This is just a normal 5 piece kit.
[img]http://forcedentryband.com/images/tama_front.jpg[/img] [img]http://forcedentryband.com/images/tama_top.jpg[/img]

The pictures don't really give to 2 kits justice, but you get the idea. I love music! and there is nothing better then being up on stage playing! Plus it makes the girls go crazy...it's not even fair. It's like fishing in a stocked pond with dynamite 8)

Later,
-Chris

[redbullmarky]

@obsidian - there's a strong link between people who have an interest in music (performance rather than listening) and maths/logic, which is generally what alot of programming/coding revolves around. also the fact that both are creative and involve serious concentration means they both have similar appeal. i read all that somewhere a while back.


also yeah i'm amazed by the amount of offspring us lot have collectively too. blowing the myth of "bedroom geeks" out the water  ;D

[effigy]

[quote author=cmgmyr link=topic=112560.msg457429#msg457429 date=1161789126]
Yeah I have tried a few of them. The problem is, is that do get a decent sound...you need to pay A LOT of money.
[/quote]
Aye, but I don't have an option in my case. I bought an entry-level Roland TD-3S set about 2 years ago and maxed the inputs with 2 extra pads; it's not shabby for apartment practice. In fact, it's quite decent for me since I've rarely played on acoustic sets. Nice sets :) How long have you been playing?

[cmgmyr]

Thanks, I'm glad you like them. :) I've been playing drums for 12+ years, guitar for 6+ years, and I've been dabbling with bass and piano for 4+ years.

[obsidian]

[quote author=effigy link=topic=112560.msg457398#msg457398 date=1161786092]
Where? What did you like/dislike about it?
[/quote]

Well, I grew up on the island of [url=http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=guam&ie=UTF8&z=7&om=1]Guam[/url]. For those of you who don't know it, it's sort of smack dab between Australia, Japan and the PI (Philippines). What I liked: beaches, baby! Love them beaches! Also, just the people in general. The culture out there is so much more [i]real[/i] than what I've found here in the mainland US since I moved here. Definitely more pros than cons to living out there. My biggest complaint: it's freakin' [b]hot[/b]! lol

[quote author=redbullmarky link=topic=112560.msg457431#msg457431 date=1161789250]
@obsidian - there's a strong link between people who have an interest in music (performance rather than listening) and maths/logic, which is generally what alot of programming/coding revolves around. also the fact that both are creative and involve serious concentration means they both have similar appeal. i read all that somewhere a while back.
[/quote]

That makes sense. I've always gravitated to performance, and while I still have nowhere near professional skills on anything, I love playing and writing music. My appreciation for techniques and actual makeup of music has skyrocketed since I began coding, so I can definitely understand the correlation between the two as you cited. Although, I probably do much different styles of music than most of you. I actually play acoustic/classical guitar. I've only been playing for a couple years, but I love it. I've actually been playing piano since sixth grade, but I didn't actually start practicing hard until I got into college. I absolutely suck at sight reading, but I have almost every piece I've played memorized to this day. I'm kind of weird that way with music: once I've learned it, it's like I can never forget it :P