About...
About me
I'm an old warhorse of the computing industry, recently retired after forty years between the keyboard and the screen. I started my working life in medical computing, and subsequently meandered aimlessly through medical research, teaching, law, and back to computing. I never really had a clear idea what I wanted to do for a living; I'm repeatedly taken by surprise when I realize that I've reached the end of my working life without ever finding out. Happily, though, I guess it no longer matters. I've learned a good deal along the way, and I like to share what I know.
Much of the content on this site is about my former professional interests: mostly programming, math, and electronics. Since retirement, however, I've started to write more about matters that concern me personally, particularly Internet privacy, retro technology, and de-Googling.
If anybody's interested, here's my CV.
About this site
I maintain this site at my own expense in the hope that, just maybe, a few people will find my musings useful or, at least, mildly diverting.
I don't use any AI tools: every word on the site, for better or worse, is the product of my own limited intellect, except where I state otherwise. I don't even use writing aids more sophisticated than a spelling checker. I try to write a couple of new articles every month but, given how long they take to research and author, I don't always succeed. I don't provide a way to comment on my posts, but I do sometimes append feedback I get by e-mail to my posts. If I do this, it will always be added verbatim, and I'll identify the author (if I can, and I'm permitted to).
I do respond to constructive criticism, so feel free to contact me if you spot a mistake or omission, and I'll try to fix it. I also respond to suggestions for new articles, if they're on topics I'm interested in, and I have time to research them. However, even in retirement, I don't have unlimited time.
Since I no longer have to care what people think of my professionalism, I've noticed that in my recent postings I've become more sarcastic, and use more rude words than I used to. That is, the site is becoming more personal. However, I intend it to remain family-friendly and safe for work.
In case anybody's interested in the technical aspects: I write these articles using plain HTML or Markdown, and then run a bunch of Perl scripts I wrote myself to turn them into a full website. If I were starting from scratch, I'd probably use a static site utility like Jekyll, but you know how it is with new tricks and old dogs.
I don't advertise or deal with commercial affiliates; I don't endorse anything I didn't buy with my own money; I don't ask for, or accept, payment in any form, for any reason. This site is a labour of... well, not love exactly. It's my burden, and I carry it like Frodo Baggins carrying the One Ring to Mordor. I sometimes wish I could throw it, like the Ring, into the fires of Mount Doom and be rid of it, once and for all. But I've been writing it for such a long time -- since 1994 -- that I don't feel I can stop.
My point is only this: I don't do it for money, but because I want to. If you find anything helpful, feel free to tell me, and I'll perhaps do more of it. If you don't, feel free to go elsewhere.
About the "small web"
This website follows "small web" principles, and I'm pleased to be associated with the Kagi search engine's small web initiative.
Broadly, the small web is that section of the world-wide web populated by hand-written, personal sites, free from advertising and commercial affiliation, using minimalist design principles to present real content.
This site doesn't rely on modern browser technologies, and I try to make it
comprehensible using a text-only browser like links. Not that I'm
suggesting that anybody should use a text-only browser as their primary way of
looking at the web; but it's a good way to identify cleanly-designed sites.
This site has images, but no embedded videos or anything that pops up, makes a noise, or moves around. I do use a bit of JavaScript, mostly on those pages that display math. Unfortunately, plain HTML doesn't really have a way to write mathematical equations -- not one that works across a range of browsers, anyway. If there were one, I'd use it.
Following these principles means that loading and displaying pages from this site should be fast, compared to the usual bloated, ad-infested, commercial behemoths.
There was a time when all websites were small web sites. Sadly, commercial exploitation has turned the web into a dehumanizing, soul-sucking hellscape. This site is my small contribution to trying to make it more fit for human habitation again.
