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Who are you guys?
So, I suppose I could/should/would make a reply; here goes.
I'm Andrew, I'm 18, and I live in Athens, Greece.
Came across this forum a few days ago, and, honestly, I really like it; the community seems to lack that certain snobbery that distinguishes most large forum communities.
I've been into programming for 4-5 years, but it's been very on and off (mostly off) until a few months ago, when I went into college (automation major). I am a serious newbie, and the only language I've seriously dealt with is C++ (though I had dabbled with other languages (VB, Python, Java, and a few more that I honestly don't even remember the names of) for a specific project a couple of years ago, but I don't really remember diddle-squat of any them).
Recently started using Linux (started with Ubuntu in a dual boot). Absolutely awesome; haven't logged in Windows for almost a month and a half now.
Also used to play music; 9 years piano, 1 year clarinet (hated it), and 1 year mpouzouki. Though I haven't really touched playing music in almost 4 years now. Favourite genres to listen to are metal (industrial, thrash and a little death) and classical.
I am a serious gamer (mainly FPSs, and RPGs (both MMOs and not)). My biggest woe right now is not having my big PC with me because it's still in the city I used to live in, and I'm with a damn netbook, so no COD:Black Ops. Seriously looking forward to The Old Republic (did I mention I love Star Wars?).
My favourite (currently watching) series are Stargate: Universe, Chuck, Big Bang Theory, and Sanctuary. Also: Futurama and Monty Python: awesome.
Real a lot of fantasy (high and not) and science fiction. (And their absolutely awesome mix: science fantasy (input angel's choir here). ) I'm currently reading the Ender series and the Discworld series, and re-reading the Tolkien books for the gazillionth time.
BTW: favourite number: 23, favourite colour: black.
And, that's that.
PS: Hah; that's more than I expected to write.
I'm Andrew, I'm 18, and I live in Athens, Greece.
Came across this forum a few days ago, and, honestly, I really like it; the community seems to lack that certain snobbery that distinguishes most large forum communities.
I've been into programming for 4-5 years, but it's been very on and off (mostly off) until a few months ago, when I went into college (automation major). I am a serious newbie, and the only language I've seriously dealt with is C++ (though I had dabbled with other languages (VB, Python, Java, and a few more that I honestly don't even remember the names of) for a specific project a couple of years ago, but I don't really remember diddle-squat of any them).
Recently started using Linux (started with Ubuntu in a dual boot). Absolutely awesome; haven't logged in Windows for almost a month and a half now.
Also used to play music; 9 years piano, 1 year clarinet (hated it), and 1 year mpouzouki. Though I haven't really touched playing music in almost 4 years now. Favourite genres to listen to are metal (industrial, thrash and a little death) and classical.
I am a serious gamer (mainly FPSs, and RPGs (both MMOs and not)). My biggest woe right now is not having my big PC with me because it's still in the city I used to live in, and I'm with a damn netbook, so no COD:Black Ops. Seriously looking forward to The Old Republic (did I mention I love Star Wars?).
My favourite (currently watching) series are Stargate: Universe, Chuck, Big Bang Theory, and Sanctuary. Also: Futurama and Monty Python: awesome.
Real a lot of fantasy (high and not) and science fiction. (And their absolutely awesome mix: science fantasy (input angel's choir here). ) I'm currently reading the Ender series and the Discworld series, and re-reading the Tolkien books for the gazillionth time.
BTW: favourite number: 23, favourite colour: black.
And, that's that.
PS: Hah; that's more than I expected to write.
We're not a very large community. We get lots of questions but there's probably less than 100 people that post regularly.
I can only think of maybe 15 regular posters back in 2008 when I joined.. there were only a handful of regulars... Zaita, Zhuge (what happened to them), Grey Wolf, Duaos, FireDraco, to name a few, there were others. I like that the forum has a small set of regulars. In some ways you get to learn their personalities and what they specialize in as well as the breadth of their professional experience.
@DeusExInfernus, you forgot to list your credit card info.
@DeusExInfernus, you forgot to list your credit card info.
Zaita has posted a little but he seems not to have posted very much since before I joined. I've seen Zhuge around a few times.
I also like that we have quite a small number of regulars. This forum has a very friendly atmosphere (most of the time).
I also like that we have quite a small number of regulars. This forum has a very friendly atmosphere (most of the time).
I guess I can chime in with info about myself. Whynot.
I'm 27/m (going on 28). I'm currently in Washington state, USA, though I have lived in 4 other states over time. I work at an import/export company doing things that are largely unrelated to my programming abilities... which is just fine with me. I never wanted a job in programming.
School was kind of a personal hell for me for several reasons. Although I was always strangely popular despite being largely introverted (go figure). But anyway yeah. I was in all advanced programs in elementary school and got good grades, then in middle school my grades turned average, and by HS I was pulling B-Cs with the occasional D. Until my Junior year when I just wore down and stopped caring and was failing most of my classes.
I took some BS 'HS equivilency' thing, got some certificate that supposed to replace a diploma but doesn't really, and then dropped out. Worked some busboy and retail jobs for a while (Best Buy.. *shudder*). After a while my parents talked me into taking some programming courses at the community college. I don't know why I agreed. I went in the classes for a while but it immediately hit me that it was just like HS all over again -- so I quit without even getting halfway through the semester.
Finally landed my current job thanks to some people I know (proving once again that social networking is far more important than schooling/working hard), and am making a pretty decent wage considering my qualifications (or lack thereof).
I used to be high strung and easily stressed (boy did I handle stress badly), and suffered from social anxiety. I even had anxiety attacks where I would basically just shut down for minutes at a time. I even went to counseling for it.
Counselling was a total joke. It only made it worse. When you have social anxiety, being in the spotlight is what causes your problems -- so being with a therapist where you're the center of constant attention/evaluation/judgement is like the deepest corner of hell.
Then about 2 years ago (shortly after I started my current job) I quit caffeine and my anxiety/stress problems have pretty much disappeared entirely. I didn't make the connection to caffeine and my anxiety at the time, but looking back it seems totally obvious now. I was drinking 2 liters of Mountain Dew a day (sometimes more). Now I switched to apple juice (which is still loaded with sugar -- but hey one step at a time, right?)
I still try to program as a hobby but working full time really kills my motivation, so I post on the forums as sort of a substitute. I can keep my programming brain-muscles flexed with short posts instead of having to dedicate hours of time to programming projects.
So yeah that's me in a nutshell.
I'm 27/m (going on 28). I'm currently in Washington state, USA, though I have lived in 4 other states over time. I work at an import/export company doing things that are largely unrelated to my programming abilities... which is just fine with me. I never wanted a job in programming.
School was kind of a personal hell for me for several reasons. Although I was always strangely popular despite being largely introverted (go figure). But anyway yeah. I was in all advanced programs in elementary school and got good grades, then in middle school my grades turned average, and by HS I was pulling B-Cs with the occasional D. Until my Junior year when I just wore down and stopped caring and was failing most of my classes.
I took some BS 'HS equivilency' thing, got some certificate that supposed to replace a diploma but doesn't really, and then dropped out. Worked some busboy and retail jobs for a while (Best Buy.. *shudder*). After a while my parents talked me into taking some programming courses at the community college. I don't know why I agreed. I went in the classes for a while but it immediately hit me that it was just like HS all over again -- so I quit without even getting halfway through the semester.
Finally landed my current job thanks to some people I know (proving once again that social networking is far more important than schooling/working hard), and am making a pretty decent wage considering my qualifications (or lack thereof).
I used to be high strung and easily stressed (boy did I handle stress badly), and suffered from social anxiety. I even had anxiety attacks where I would basically just shut down for minutes at a time. I even went to counseling for it.
Counselling was a total joke. It only made it worse. When you have social anxiety, being in the spotlight is what causes your problems -- so being with a therapist where you're the center of constant attention/evaluation/judgement is like the deepest corner of hell.
Then about 2 years ago (shortly after I started my current job) I quit caffeine and my anxiety/stress problems have pretty much disappeared entirely. I didn't make the connection to caffeine and my anxiety at the time, but looking back it seems totally obvious now. I was drinking 2 liters of Mountain Dew a day (sometimes more). Now I switched to apple juice (which is still loaded with sugar -- but hey one step at a time, right?)
I still try to program as a hobby but working full time really kills my motivation, so I post on the forums as sort of a substitute. I can keep my programming brain-muscles flexed with short posts instead of having to dedicate hours of time to programming projects.
So yeah that's me in a nutshell.
Very interesting. Any reason in particular that you don't want to get into programming professionally?
@Disch:
It's funny to me how many of the things you just said seem to describe my own life. Except that I'm only 17 and have no caffeine addiction, it would be fairly redundant to give a description of myself.
I'm curious to know how life is going without an actual HS diploma. I'm planning on trying to find a way to drop out of school and make a living without one. I'd like to know stuff like what your salary is, and if you like your job. I know those are personal questions, so feel free to ignore me if you wish.
It's funny to me how many of the things you just said seem to describe my own life. Except that I'm only 17 and have no caffeine addiction, it would be fairly redundant to give a description of myself.
I'm curious to know how life is going without an actual HS diploma. I'm planning on trying to find a way to drop out of school and make a living without one. I'd like to know stuff like what your salary is, and if you like your job. I know those are personal questions, so feel free to ignore me if you wish.
It's possible to make a good living without a HS diploma, but statistically it's not very easy. Many companies will not even consider you for employment. The equivalency or GED is generally accepted as a HS diploma.
| Return 0 wrote: |
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| Very interesting. Any reason in particular that you don't want to get into programming professionally? |
I don't have the stamina. I can code in bursts but then I get burned out and don't want to touch it for weeks. When it's a hobby that's fine because I can put it down and pursue other things. When I'm doing it professionally I have to stick it out.
Coding when I'm burned out would be miserable -- and I would be constantly burnt out because there's no break (or at least not one that's long enough for me to recover). So I would be constantly bored and tired of my job.
So not only would I hate my job, but I also would lose my hobby.
| Browni3141 wrote: |
|---|
| It's funny to me how many of the things you just said seem to describe my own life |
I'm not surprised. I find my general situation to be common among many people I've spoken with.
| Except that I'm only 17 and have no caffeine addiction, |
Heh. You know I wouldn't say it was an addiction because I didn't have any trouble quitting, and I have no desire to go back. I just drank MD because it tasted good. *shrug*
| I'm curious to know how life is going without an actual HS diploma. |
I'm sure I'm not the norm, but my life is going great. I don't have heavy living expenses and I'm not particularly frugal (but I'm not extravagant, either). I can buy whatever small stuff I want whenever I want, and I limit myself to one big thing per month.
| I'm planning on trying to find a way to drop out of school and make a living without one. |
I don't recommend it. It worked out for me, but to tell the truth I just got lucky. If my friend didn't hook me up with this job I'd be in a really bad way right now. Especially with the economy and unemployment in the current state they're in.
The best advice I can give would be to stick it out through high school, but don't blindly go to college just because it's "the thing you do after high school". Start figuring out what you want to do your senior year (or earlier), then find out what you need to do to get there.
Talk to career counselors, find out what college courses you need (if any) and actually work towards a specific goal. I know a lot of people who went to college and just took aimless general ed courses and got degrees that are doing nothing for them.
To contrast my success story, I can point to my sister who has an even bigger success story. She was a die-hard straight A student, got an English Degree from Berkeley, etc, etc. She really knows how to play the system. She can get any job she applies for, but IMO she aims lower than what she's qualified for. She ultimately wants to be an author, but she has a more level-headed goal of being an ESL teacher. She has traveled all over the world and lived in like half a dozen countries.
And although she isn't exactly wealthy in a financial sense, she still can basically do whatever she wants. I really envy her.
| I'd like to know stuff like what your salary is, and if you like your job. |
Let's just say I make more than I can spend --but again, I don't throw money around. I just naturally don't spend a lot of money. I buy what I want, but I don't get carried away.
I also am supporting only myself (no family or anything), so that makes my money go further. If I had kids it'd probably be a different story. Screw kids.
And my job is great. I would say I love it, but I wouldn't do it if I didn't have to, so it's not really something I look forward to. However I don't dislike it, and I never wake up with a feeling of dread of the upcoming work day. So I guess you could say I'm neutral about it.... which in my book makes it a terrific job. Most people are stuck with jobs they hate.
Wow, people are getting fairly open on these things. I'll add a few things to my bio then:
Ex-nicotine addict (French), A-B grades with 2 Cs so far, and I have a real problem with letting things go. I replay all my mistakes over and over in my head (and there's plenty of those). As far as programming, I'm only useful if I completely stop thinking about everything but the project. When I'm in the zone, I get massive amounts of work done all at once. Due to lack of stamina, I have never been able to finish any of the massive projects I start (this will have to change).
On the positive side, I've done most of the retarded things people do between the ages of 14 and 21 without having permanently wrecked my life. Since I'm only 16, I feel like I'm ahead of the curve. However, I still have 5 more years to find a creative way to destroy myself so there's still hope.
Ex-nicotine addict (French), A-B grades with 2 Cs so far, and I have a real problem with letting things go. I replay all my mistakes over and over in my head (and there's plenty of those). As far as programming, I'm only useful if I completely stop thinking about everything but the project. When I'm in the zone, I get massive amounts of work done all at once. Due to lack of stamina, I have never been able to finish any of the massive projects I start (this will have to change).
On the positive side, I've done most of the retarded things people do between the ages of 14 and 21 without having permanently wrecked my life. Since I'm only 16, I feel like I'm ahead of the curve. However, I still have 5 more years to find a creative way to destroy myself so there's still hope.
If we are going to drop personal bombshells then I guess I have one. I was born with Spina Bifida which at its core level means I'm bound to a wheelchair. I had a high chance of having a mental disability as it is often required to use a shunt. Whether I have this problem or not I guess can be determined by you :)
EDIT: Did I suddenly make this topic and therefore my status on the forums forever awkward?
EDIT: Did I suddenly make this topic and therefore my status on the forums forever awkward?
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Hi, I'm Oren Watson, a 17 year old guy from Canada. I got into programming when I took my dad's old computer and he showed me Perl. I later learned Game Maker, but then some guy told me real programmers use C, a which point I looked it up and learned (to my delight) that making games in C was actually easier than using Game Maker (at least for me). As for physical appearances, I'm thin despite my diet, and I have long dirty blond hair and sideburns. My grades were complete shit until last year, which was grade 11, the first year it ever mattered at all. This year I'm studying hard and getting an avg of 86% (go me!)
I also have the problem others in this thread have mentioned, that is I start things but don't finish them. Lately however I've been more able to force myself to finish, so I was able to release my version of tetris, the first thing I made which I feel I can call a "product."
I also have the problem others in this thread have mentioned, that is I start things but don't finish them. Lately however I've been more able to force myself to finish, so I was able to release my version of tetris, the first thing I made which I feel I can call a "product."
@ Return 0:
Oh, my god; can't believe I forgot to mention that.
It's 1345-4683-6629-0096, name is Stupidman Bullshitius, date is 97/82/3040 and the 3-digit-code-on-the-back-thing is 666.
Oh, my god; can't believe I forgot to mention that.
It's 1345-4683-6629-0096, name is Stupidman Bullshitius, date is 97/82/3040 and the 3-digit-code-on-the-back-thing is 666.
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@rocketboy9000,
Through a combination of poor understanding of hard links in Linux filesystems and what happens when you use rm instead of unlink, and a lack of the ability to finish a project in one go, the only completely finished program I still have is a Brainfuck interpreter (though I have a few Python & Bash scripts).
Through a combination of poor understanding of hard links in Linux filesystems and what happens when you use rm instead of unlink, and a lack of the ability to finish a project in one go, the only completely finished program I still have is a Brainfuck interpreter (though I have a few Python & Bash scripts).
Hi there
I'm Logan from LA, Califorinia. I'm 22 years and I'm programming since the age of 16 or 17.. don't exactly :D I do it more for fun that for school or job.. It's like a hobby for me.. But still, i like to learn a lot and get better every day as long as i have the time for it :)
I'm Logan from LA, Califorinia. I'm 22 years and I'm programming since the age of 16 or 17.. don't exactly :D I do it more for fun that for school or job.. It's like a hobby for me.. But still, i like to learn a lot and get better every day as long as i have the time for it :)
The details of my life are quite inconsequential.... Very well, where do I begin? My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low-grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a 15-year-old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize; he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes, he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament... My childhood was typical: summers in Rangoon... luge lessons... In the spring, we'd make meat helmets... When I was insolent I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds — pretty standard, really. At the age of 12, I received my first scribe. At the age of 14, a Zoroastrian named Wilma ritualistically shaved my testicles — there really is nothing like a shorn scrotum — it's quite breathtaking... I suggest you try it.
The name "Sputnik" is based on the Satellite launched in 1957.
The name "Sputnik" is based on the Satellite launched in 1957.
We really do get pretty personal here, don't we? I must appear extremely secretive...
Sputnik, the details and events of one's life are never inconsequential, especially not the ones you outlined above. That's a life that the majority of the people in this world couldn't possibly imagine, let alone understand. That's all I'll say because I guess it's a sensitive topic, unless you wish me to say more.
-Albatross
Sputnik, the details and events of one's life are never inconsequential, especially not the ones you outlined above. That's a life that the majority of the people in this world couldn't possibly imagine, let alone understand. That's all I'll say because I guess it's a sensitive topic, unless you wish me to say more.
-Albatross
Hello, I'm Joseph, and I'm a code-aholic...
I started programming when I was 8 in basic... uh, I think, it was from a book, so maybe it didn't count. I've always done it here and there, but about 5 years ago when to school for it... The problem was that I took all my Math and CS courses very quickly and got bored and obsessed with numbers (a common problem with me) and ended up stopping. I had a job for a while during that I was actually programming with PHP (which by the way is really easy if you know C++), but that ended around the same time... I've had tons of jobs too (from fishing in Alaska to farming to helping with curriculum for high school... btw, did you know that some editors for high school books don't really know that much about math and actually create errors that the writers didn't have?) and move around quite a bit. Currently I'm in Brasil... We are going to win next World Cup just you wait... and have a grand-daughter (by marriage) that loves Justin Bieber...
I started programming when I was 8 in basic... uh, I think, it was from a book, so maybe it didn't count. I've always done it here and there, but about 5 years ago when to school for it... The problem was that I took all my Math and CS courses very quickly and got bored and obsessed with numbers (a common problem with me) and ended up stopping. I had a job for a while during that I was actually programming with PHP (which by the way is really easy if you know C++), but that ended around the same time... I've had tons of jobs too (from fishing in Alaska to farming to helping with curriculum for high school... btw, did you know that some editors for high school books don't really know that much about math and actually create errors that the writers didn't have?) and move around quite a bit. Currently I'm in Brasil... We are going to win next World Cup just you wait... and have a grand-daughter (by marriage) that loves Justin Bieber...
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@Albatross, what Sputnik said was a direct quote from the character Dr. Evil in the movie Austin Powers.