RIA

First, a quick introduction. What’s your name, and what do you do?

Not as skewed as it looks.

I’m Martin. I do different stuff to computers until they yield to my wishes. More specifically; I primarily do HTML/CSS/JS and ActionScript, but dabble in all sorts of other languages on the side.

And who are you off-duty?

I’m a complex character…

Alright, alright. Since my job is also my hobby I’ve traditionally had problems coming up with a real distinction when this question pops up. Lately though, I find that there are some clear differences between private and professional life; First and foremost the amount of (literal) poop I’m expected to deal with.

The poop-factory.

What got you started doing what you do?

I wrote my first <BLINK> tag on Geocities at some point in the mid-nineties and created AWSUM GFX with Photoshop 5.0 (The crappy release) on a PC that was so severely underpowered I kept a book around for whenever I had to wait for some filter to render. (True story) Between then and now I’ve been sidetracked in all sorts of directions before I ended up a full-time codemonkey in 2006, but always kept a foot in the web dev camp.

When I started making web sites the title “Web Designer” implied someone who knew Photoshop, HTML, PHP, Flash, and whatever other ad-hoc technology he or she needed to get the job done. While I’m happy to get to focus on the coding and let the designers do the prettymaking these days, I’m glad I’ve gotten to dabble in all parts of the web production process and I still strive to be able to wear the Full-Stack Developer merit badge proudly.

What have your greatest inspirations been, and why?

Accepting the risk of being perceived as a complete cop-out, I’m still going to say that my number one inspiration has been the remarkable communities of web developers. I hope that the willingness to share one’s experience and knowledge and spend time helping out hopeless newbies isn’t just a a hippie-ish sentiment of the first “innocent” decade online that will be lost to future generations as developers start “hoarding” knowledge as seen in so many other industries.

So rather than name any specific developers, artists or what-have-yous, I’d say that the fact that these communities exist, is above all else what inspired me to get going.

Have there been any paradigm shifts in your career?

You mean today?

Oh hell yes. All the time. I guess making the switch to AS3 and OOP is a good example of a profound shift, but honestly; Things are in a state of flux all the time.

If you could change one part of your industry, what would that be?

Yes. That’s a great question. Let me answer something entirely different.

The word amateur doesn’t mean what you probably think it means. It’s derived from latin amatore, which translates into lover. An amateur is someone who is “doing it for the love of doing it.” It seems to me we could do with a lot more amateurism in the world in general and web development in particular.

What is a perfect day on the job?

I have no idea how to answer this question without resorting to terrible programmer clichés about “the zone”.

What’s your favorite piece of music?

“Kan det være nødvendig å være så sint” by Knudsen & Ludvigsen.
Yeah… I should probably redo this one when I’ve spent a week or so in the company of grown-ups.

What’s your favorite book?

I have a soft spot in my heart for Stardust by Neil Gaiman. If you’re too damn macho to read fairy-tales, you should check out Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut.

Who is your daddy, and what does he do?

My daddy is a cool guy. You’d like him. He does all sorts of crazy stuff.

Any parting words?

Most people are stupid, most authority is malignant, God does not exist and everything is wrong.
-Ted Nelson

I occasionally write stuff here as well.