SkillZDesign.com

Yes, at long last, I have a blog. Here it is, in all its glory. There’s even a chance that at some point, I might have something meaningful to say- meaningful, that is, to me. There’s also a chance that this whole thing might serve as a grim reminder that I actually have absolutely nothing meaningful to say. It just felt like it was long overdue, as if I’ve been missing the party. After all, I’m a computer guy, I guess. Here’s the scenario: Stranger and yours truly engage in some conversation. Before too long, stranger asks, “What do you do?” After some thought (but not too much, since by now it feels like a waste of time to even try to come up with a succinct answer), I say, “Computer stuff. Basically. Lots of computer stuff.” I’ve been around computers for what seems like forever. I spent many sleepless nights at the age of 11 or 12 trying to recreate my favorite arcade games in Basic on my Atari 400 computer. I’ve played classical piano for most of my life, played in some bands, published a couple of cartoons (rather, friends of mine published them, probably out of pity), wrote some short stories, and throughout all of this I did “computer stuff.” When it came to paying the bills, “computer stuff” did just that. It hasn’t made me rich, yet, but I’m still young. Well, I’m not old. Then again, ask any teenager who is about as old as I feel and they’ll probably tell you I’m way over the hill. According to this guy, I’m at the cutoff for starting a startup. He has a PhD in Computer Science from Harvard. Despite that, he seems pretty smart. It’s a good thing I learned a long time ago not to look around for discouragement. I’d like to start a software company, for a couple of reasons. First, I want to get rich. There, I said it. I want to make a whole lot of money so my daughter can live comfortably and go to the best schools; then, I won’t feel too guilty about treating myself really well. Software design seems like one good avenue in that direction. Second, I’d like to piss off all those people who call themselves “programmers.” I never went to school for computer science. I’ve taken a programming class or two in my time, but that’s about it. I know a whole lot of people who have gone to school for it, most of whom hold highly technical-sounding positions and make decent money to boot, but getting any useful information out of these people is like pulling teeth. In fact, pulling teeth is easier. Incidentally, I feel about the same way about people who call themselves “artists,” “writers” and “musicians.” I’m not talking about artists, writers and musicians- just people who call themselves those things. I apologize to the handful of those who aren’t spoiled and pretentious. The painful irony here is that people who call themselves these things piss me off, yet I still don’t know what to call myself, and despite my aversion to labelling and stereotypes, that pisses me off. It would make conversation so much easier if I had a nice, simple label to call myself, such as “fireman,” or “spot welder,” or “wrecking ball operator.” It might even help me get to sleep at night, since I wouldn’t be spending time thinking about this.

Tags: General //