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Intervew 13. Final Interview. – CPUFreak91

CPUFreak91

Member

Posts: 2337
From:
Registered: 02-01-2005
This is the last interview for this year (I may start another series in '08). Unlike previous interviews, this one is with a guest. He hasn't been on CCN in quite a long time, but he's the guy who started it all.


Why did you start CCN?
A loooooooong time ago I was looking around sites like Gamedev.net and I saw Christians asking computer questions. They made the fatal flaw of saying that they were developing Christian-themed games and so opened themselves up to be slammed instead of helped. Seeing things like "Why do you just pray for help?" made me think that having a place for Christians to hang out and get help coding would be cool. So, I set out to create a little corner of the programming world for them. I wasn't a Christian when I started the site, either...I was actively seeking, but I wasn't like a full-fledged honorary member or anything. It was really just that I found it irritating that people were being smacked about simply because they had a belief in something others didn't understand.

What kind of job do you have?
I work for America Online in the Games division. I'm also finally going to be returning to school to get my degree in Computer Science. I started down that path 20 years ago but life very quickly got in the way. Word of advice to all of you considering skipping out on college: DO NOT SKIP OUT ON COLLEGE! Seriously. No matter what, tough it out...I wish I had.

Do you like working at AOL?
Yes, I do enjoy working at AOL. There were a few years that I found it dull, to be honest, but the last year has been pretty cool.

How old are you? How long have you been working with computers?
I'm 5 months from my 40th birthday and I started out on a Commodore VIC-20 in the early/mid 80's. So I've been working with computers for over 20 years now.

Are you a coder? Do you use an IDE?
I am a coder, yes. I use all sorts of IDE's, but primary is Ultra-Edit and MS Visual Studio.

What languages do you know/program in?
Active languages: C, C++, Assembler, PHP, HTML, JavaScript, CSS. Languages I've used for projects before: Basic, Visual Basic, Blitz Basic, Pure Basic, Pascal, Prolog, PERL, COBOL, RPG-II...and probably others I've long since forgotten.

Are you learning any new ones?
XML, XLST, and AJAX.

When did you become interested in computers?
My dad worked for IBM as a programmer. So I got to see first-hand all the 70's nerds coding on punch cards. I thought it was cool, but I was more into riding my bike at that time. Then when I saw the Atari computer that my now father-in-law had, I was hooked. I was 13 at the time, I think, and had just started dating my now-wife. I was too cool to admit that I liked computers then...but I was a closet geek and quietly I saved up my cash in order to pick up a commodore VIC-20 (with the RAM expansion, brother!), a tape drive, and a 300baud VolksModem (if I remember correctly).

What was it about the computer that interested you?
The unknown.

What is it about the computer that interests you now?
Creation of things and meeting challenges. Computers are simultaneously the coolest and most dangerous things to grace our lives in a long time. They offer the best opportunity for our advancement while also offering the best opportunity for our demise. I find this fascinating. I study both sides of the fence and try to create things that help the advancement while blocking the demise. It's an absurd battle on the face of it, but I dig it.

What kind of music do you listen to while you work (if you listen to music while working)?
Depends on my mood. If I'm coding games, graphics, or using the computer to write...I listen to Fantasy Metal, such as Blind Guardian's Nightfall on Middle Earth or Rhapsody's various albums. If I'm coding web stuff, I tend to either listen to nothing or to old rock. I can't answer why this is, but as I self-evaluate I do find it rather odd.

What operating system(s) do you normally use? Why do you use them?
I use XP mostly because it's what the majority of people in my business use, so I have to develop for them.

Do you use any other OSes?
Linux for web-server stuff.

What other things do you enjoy doing on a computer?
Recording music and writing Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Do you prefer Email or Instant messaging when communicating with someone?
It depends on the context. Most of the time I'm too busy to IM with lots of people and I don't like to be rude to them, so email is best. It gives me the opportunity to respond as time permits.

What kind of Email/Chat client do you use? What's it's name?
Outlook for Email and Trillian or AIM for IM's.

Do you blog? Often?
Nope.

What are the specs of your home and/or work computers?
I've got 7 computers and the specs change constantly. 3 laptops, 4 desktops.

Do you have a game console? If so what is it and why did you buy it?
I'm old skool here. Latest one we have is the old XBox. My wife, son, and I all play WoW on the PC so consoles have never really been a big draw for us. We're all more online types.

If you have a game console, what was your first?
First was an Intellivision. Favorite game was Intellivision Baseball. Hearing that computer voice going "Yerrrrrr out!" was awesome.

Do you touch the graphics field of computing very often (such as modeling, or 2D art, etc)?
2D via Photoshop is all I really get a chance to do. I'm too slow an artist to be worthwhile at it.

Do you have a favorite movie or TV show?
Any comedy that has that uncomfortable-edge: The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Seinfeld, Extras, etc. I also like Science Fiction that's not cheezy (rare!). BRING BACK ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT!!!

What other non-computer hobbies do you have?
Writing, Music, and Ice Hockey.

How would you describe your relationship with Christ?
You had to ask that, didn't ya?

Okay, my relationship is in a state of flux. I am the questioning type. I don't just accept things without lots of study, and I find that it's easy to fall into things because of emotional draw more so than logical reasoning. I'm sure that it may shock many of you that I am an on-again/off-again Christian at best, but there's no point in lying about it. When I started CCN, I held Christian thoughts and values. While I still maintain those values, my thoughts and analytics have difficulty with the notion.

I do know one thing: I approach my belief in anything on when I'm NOT in dire straights. If I accept something because I'm scared, then is my acceptance true or just an knee-jerk reaction to get me out of where I'm at? "There are no atheists in foxholes." I 'accepted' Christ at a time in my life when I was going through medical issues. Things were bad, scary, I felt alone, etc. When things got good I no longer needed that relationship. And so I left it. And that's when my analytical mind said, "Hey, NOW is the time to really study and to really seek answers. If you accept Christ when you don't need Him, then you've really accepted." Maybe I'm wrong, but to me an emotional response will only weaken as the emotion dissipates. A logical response will have more staying power. To me, building faith on emotion is like building a house on sand. I'd rather build on something sturdier.

So I'm not saying that I've rejected Christ or anything, I'm just saying that I'm in a phase of questioning at this time in my life. And I most certainly do reject organized religion.

Anyway, while I still find the teachings of Christ strong and reliable, I find that notion of religion extremely flawed, non-biblical in most cases, and just downright dangerous. Thus, I now seek the truth in a more analytical, non-emotional way. If God is true, He will help me find the proper path that supports faith.

How do you imagine a way that you could use your talents and experiences to serve Christ?
Only way I can think of currently is to inspire people to question their leaders and their faith. Build a real relationship based on something you can stand strong on. Don't blindly follow something just because some dude says it. "Would you jump off a bridge if all your friends did it?" Actually, mom, I did...and it still stings when I sit.

What kind of geeky projects do you see yourself doing within the next couple of years?
OOP PHP classes for a bunch of web stuff, including XML and XSLT. Also, getting my CompSci degree!


Krylar, CCN founder

This interview is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License

Previous Interviews:

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All Your Base Are Belong To Us!!! chown -r us ./base
"After three days without programming, life becomes meaningless.'' -- Tao of Programming Book 2

"Oh, bother," said the Borg. "We've assimilated Pooh."

Open source, open mind.

My Programming and Hacker/Geek related Blog

MastaLlama

Member

Posts: 671
From: Houston, TX USA
Registered: 08-10-2005
Wow! Awesome interview! I didn't know Krylar played World of Warcraft with his wife and son! That's great! The picture...is that from a renaissance festival or something?

To anyone that's reading this and not sure about college, I completely agree with Krylar. Stick with it! Once you get through you'll have soo many more opportunities!

ArchAngel

Member

Posts: 3450
From: SV, CA, USA
Registered: 01-29-2002
very interesting interview. Some insight into the origins of CCN.

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Q.E.D.

zookey

Member

Posts: 1902
From: Great Falls, Montana, USA
Registered: 04-28-2002
quote:
Originally posted by CPUFreak91, said by Krylar:

So I'm not saying that I've rejected Christ or anything, I'm just saying that I'm in a phase of questioning at this time in my life. And I most certainly do reject organized religion.

Anyway, while I still find the teachings of Christ strong and reliable, I find that notion of religion extremely flawed, non-biblical in most cases, and just downright dangerous. Thus, I now seek the truth in a more analytical, non-emotional way. If God is true, He will help me find the proper path that supports faith.

[b]How do you imagine a way that you could use your talents and experiences to serve Christ?
Only way I can think of currently is to inspire people to question their leaders and their faith. Build a real relationship based on something you can stand strong on. Don't blindly follow something just because some dude says it. "Would you jump off a bridge if all your friends did it?" Actually, mom, I did...and it still stings when I sit.

[/B]



Man true true---I know where you have been--I went through a doubt phase last year for a while (it actually ended last year)----the end result is I am 1000% for Jesus and 1000% ANTI organized religion------it is cool you had the cajones to openly talk about it man! Don't worry---talk it out with God he'll guide ya!!!!!!!

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Mack

Administrator

Posts: 2779
From:
Registered: 01-20-2001
Great wrap up CPU
D-SIPL

Moderator

Posts: 1345
From: Maesteg, Wales
Registered: 07-21-2001
This interview has shocked me on so many levels.

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"One World. One Web. One Program." -Microsoft promotional advertisement
"Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuhrer!" -Adolf Hitler

Krylar

Administrator

Posts: 502
From: MD, USA
Registered: 03-05-2001
Heya,

A few things have changed since I answered them thar questions:

1) I upgraded to Vista and (he says with shame) I actually like it.

2) I'm using an new IDE for PHP called PhpED (www.nusphere.com) that seriously rocks.

[edit]3. We bought a Nintendo wii as well.[/edit]

Erm...think that's it. Thanks for everyone's feedback and points of view!

-K

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[This message has been edited by krylar (edited September 26, 2007).]