So apparently Ryan Lanciaux thinks I should go around answering questions or something.  I don't know why he'd want to be associated with me.  I don't know why anyone would, really.  Ha!  Anyhow, here goes ... this should make for an interesting (and by interesting, I mean boring) one.  I'm not too exciting, really. 

How old were you when you first started programming?

I am thinking I was around eleven or twelve at the time, creating some goofy loop on a Commodore 64 that displayed some text in different colors.  It was highly sophisticated and used the latest technologies in its three lines of code.  It has gotten me a lot of jobs, really.

How did you get started in programming?

From when I was a kid, I had always wanted a computer.  I was convinced I was going to win a couple hundred bucks in the lottery and buy an old computer to work on.  My brother had some game system (that's the official name) that you could program the games for in under six years and then play for about ten minutes before you got bored with it.  We got a book to program those, although I really didn't get to use it much.  In seventh grade, or high school, I took a programming class since one was finally available to me.  It was one of those things that just clicked.  I would work on the assignments, expand on what was there when I got bored, help out other students in the class, and work on some lil' project that I thought would be fun.  Again, highly technical. We ended up going to a competition for this, too, with disasterous results.  It was a lot of fun, though, and I really did learn a lot in this class that I have used since.

What was your first language?

English, then BASIC - apparently this is what a lot of people say.  I'm a conformist.

What was the first real program you wrote?

Hangman.  It was the best Hangman program ever, excluding any other hangman program you may have seen or heard of out there.

What languages have you used since you started programming?

C#, Java, JavaScript, Perl, PHP, BASIC, C++, etc.

What was your first professional programming gig?

Well ... I did a website for a realtor in PHP, but my first real gig was at Alphalogic Systems in Oregon, OH.  I was hired in as a programmer, but my job title would have more specifically been "computer guy."  It was a subdivision of another business with about fifty employees and I was the tech support guy.  Alphalogic was a consulting business as well as a hosting company, so I handled programming, customer support, computer support, server maintenance, etc ...

If you knew then what you know now, would you have started programming?

Yeah.  Sooner.

If there is one thing you learned along the way that you would tell new developers, what would it be?

That any advice I offer should be immediately ignored.  Ha ha.  No really, I'm going to repeat this seventeen times using different words so you listen to me, don't be afraid to admit you're wrong.  Seriously.  Don't be afraid of making stupid mistakes, just learn from them.  Don't think that your ideology is gold.  It's not.  This shit changes constantly.  Evolve.  Keep learning.  I really think these are just suggestions that should be applied anywhere in life.  Oh yeah, and don't be afraid to challenge others as well as yourself!  And lastly, if you're supposed to graduate from college in 1999 with a degree in Computer Science, stick with school instead of just hanging out and being lazy.  It might be a little late for that last one.

What's the most fun you've ever had programming?

Making fun of Ryan.  Ha!  No, I think fun and challenging go hand in hand here.  The hardest work, when I'm learning the most is also the most fun.  Generally, that applies more in hindsight.

Who are you calling out?

Joel Lanciaux

Rob Conery