Q & A

• Where do you live?

  Grand Rapids, Michigan: home of Artprize (one of the world's great art festivals), Beer City, USA according to a 2013 poll, the 2012 best place to raise a family (we fell to 2^nd overall in 2014), and overall the state of Michigan's best city.

• How/when did you get into programming?

  Not until college, actually, which is different than most of my colleagues. I did grow up around computers, but for me that meant obsessively playing DOS-based computer games. I didn't write my first line of code until I was 20 years old.
  
  Ultimately, I studied CS in school after realizing that, "Computers are probably going to control the rest of our lives. I might as well know how to use them."

• What's your favorite type of programming?

  My professional career has been all about web development. Python is my favorite language, but I also love the sorts of problems posed by storing and fetching large amounts of relational data and powering slick UIs with JavaScript.
  
  The type of pseudo-AI programming involved in making video games really excites me, but I don't plan on changing careers any time soon.

• What are your favorite hobbies?

  For exercise, my friends and I play ultimate frisbee, which I think is best described as the perfect love-child of soccer/futbol and American football, except with a frisbee.
  
  For non-exercise fun I love playing board games, immersive, story-driven video games, and occasionally doing some writing.

• Video games, eh? What are some of your favorites?

  Whoa, holy good question, Batman! I suppose a few items from my all-time list, extending from early childhood to know, would include:

  • Master of Orion,
  • Dune II,
  • WarCraft II,
  • StarCraft (I and II),
  • Star Fox 64,
  • Mario Kart (for the Nintendo 64 and Wii U),
  • Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time,
  • Ultima Online,
  • XCOM (Terror from the Deep, Enemy Unknown/Within, and XCOM 2)
  • and, of course, Skyrim.

• And you mentioned that you write?

  Yep, or I try to at least. I'm currently reworking my main project and hope to release bits of it soon!

• Any favorite movies?

  I almost never watch movies, but the best ever are clearly Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Forrest Gump, Inception, The Dark Knight, and Gladiator.

• What really excites you?

  I think at this point in my life, probably getting outside and sportsing with friends. I'm almost 30 years old and my body still works, but joints are starting to hurt a bit more and I'm starting to get injured more easily, so I know that eventualy I won't be able to get out and play -- really physically play -- like I can now.

• Do you travel much?

  I dabble in other places. Growing up I was lucky enough to have parents who valued travel, so I've been to quite a long list of countries. I've also been to every civilized continent except Australia. Still need to make it out to Sydney and New Zealand.

• What's your favorite place you've been?

  Beyond any doubt, Iguasu Falls. It's the Niagara Falls of South America, except imagine replacing all the concrete and sleazy hotels with jungle, rainbows, and butterflies.
  
  Seriously, it's unlike anywhere else on this earth. If you're not familiar, check it out!

  
  
  

  Iguasu Falls is one of the world's true gems

• What'd you use to build this website?

  I probably should have used something like Ghost, Wordpress, or Squarespace, but my personal site has always been a playground of sorts for various Python libraries I've wanted to try. The core framework is good old fashioned Django hosted via DigitalOcean. You can check out the code here.

• It was good talking. Any closing thoughts?

  Nope, I appreciate you having me on the show. Maybe next time send a real person so I don't have to interview myself.