Open And Free Web Standards

I've developed this site upon sound development principles, requiring strict adherence to free and open Web standards. This is regarded in the web developer and designer community as best practice.

The template engine which creates the pages you see on this site, outputs standard conform strict XHTML 1.0 code.

The design is governed by CSS level 3 style sheets. Although CSS3 is still up for review (last call), a careful selection of style elements allows for future proof styling, which can be displayed with current browser technology.

The theme still needs some improvement, specifically a link to skip directly to the content of the viewed page. All other WAI recommendations have been followed.

Please contact me immediately, if you have any complaints, or find any discrepancies to the above statements. My attention and prompt resolution is guaranteed.

No Flash

Either you love or you hate Flash. I belong to the later group. The reason for this is simple. The Web depends on open and free standards!

The Web was designed for open and free information and data exchange. As soon as one introduces proprietary formats and standards, this design aspect is destroyed. Hence my utter disgust for Microsoft products, with little Willi only interested in his growing wallet, all their efforts are directed towards monopoly and world domination.

Of course the current standards and protocols that make the Web are not perfect. Take for example video and audio, which are not suited for the document centric Web we currently have. So one might be tempted to believe "hah, there's a good use for Flash", but I can not accept this. For one, audio should never be integrated into a web page. Nothing is more disturbing than sudden unexpected sound. Immature content is not the only reason I avoid links to such sites as MySpace like the plague. And if you want to offer audio content to your visitors, stream it, or offer a link to download the file.

Same goes for video. Am I the only one who's annoyed by having the video locked into a browser? I want control over the content I consume. With Flash any form of user control is taken away. OK, you find the occasional nice people, who provide some basic functions like start, stop, pause - whopty-do. I want full control, as I have the right of choice. I want full control, as nothing but individual freedom is acceptable. We're not talking about dashing with 200 k's an hour in a speedy automobile down city centre. We're talking about binary data being transformed into air vibrations, and flashing pixels of light at different frequencies. No harm done. No restrictions required.

Flash Is Scumbags Tool Of Choice

And let's take a look at reality. What is Flash mostly used for? Advertisements! The boil of modern consumption based societies. A bloody pest.

Occasionally I talk to those "creative types" that call themselves "multi-media designers". They love to rave on about the freedom flash provides them with, to create "creative web designs". Useless design is more like it. The only people that like to look at those sites, are other designer freaks looking for inspiration. Over and over again does research show, users want a clean and simple to use interface. They refuse to search through your "creative" bulls hit. Nothing is more frustrating than blinking, flashy, moving content, that conveys nothing but how "creative" the designer can be. You want to create something beautiful? Become a tapestry designer for f@(7$ sake, or create animations.

And what else are such technology abuses, than shameless self-promotion (a.k.a. advertisement) of a designer or media business? All you are doing with this kind of design, is showing of your Macromedia product skills, and the lack of understanding what design in general, and good design specifically, is meant to be. There is a good reason that an on/off button is just that, a button, and not some "catch-me-if-you-can" thingy-me-gig.

Flash Is For Toys

We have already looked in detail at the designer-toys. Now I will confess to the only sensible usage I have ever come across for Flash - games. Never the less, I would be a hypocrite if I accepted any technology that restricts freedom. Flash is a closed, proprietary technology, and hence restricts freedom. But that's worth its own article. You want to create a game for the web, use [X]HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It's been done, and the future holds many promises.

My Experience

"Experience as a general concept comprises knowledge of or skill in or observation of some thing or some event gained through involvement in or exposure to that thing or event. The history of the word experience aligns it closely with the concept of experiment.

The concept of experience generally refers to know-how or procedural knowledge, rather than propositional knowledge. Philosophers dub knowledge based on experience "empirical knowledge" or "a posteriori knowledge". The interrogation of experience also has a long tradition in continental philosophy. The German term Erfahrung, which is translated as 'experience' into English has, however, a slightly different implication, given that it is associated with the coherency of life's experiences.

A person with considerable experience in a certain field can gain a reputation as an expert."
Quoted from Wikipedia.

On the following pages you will be able to learn more about the wide variety of experiences I have gained during my short, but active life. As you will notice, I'm a jack-of-all-trades, instead of an expert in a special field. It's what in my opinion has turned the human race into the dominating species of this planet, the individuals ability to master different skills, along with the following transfer of knowledge regarded as adaptability.

My Interests And Hobbies

On the following pages you will be able to discover a small part of the universe I live in, which I regard as a projection of my world views.

I've grouped interests and hobbies together, due to their parallels and intrinsic similarities. I have great difficulty in defining them myself in a manner, which would allow for having two labels describing two different kinds of objects. The following is a list of the appropriate definitions found in the Oxford dictionary.

interest

noun
1. the state of wanting to know about something or someone.
2. the quality of exciting curiosity or holding the attention.
3. a subject about which one is concerned or enthusiastic.

hobby

noun
1. an activity followed regularly for pleasure.

Now this will seem to contradict my above made statement, as the list above delivers two qualities, which are suppose to distinguish interest from hobby: regularity in pursuit, and seeking pleasure in motivation. I said earlier "seem", simply because I do not see, nor regard these qualities, as in any manner being of distinguishing qualities, in the sense of creating a new object. Both interest and hobby are driven by emotional motivation, as opposed to duty or applied exo-force[s]. Further, if something is of the quality to "excite curiosity", captivate enthusiasm, and trigger a desire to learn more, I can not perceive how these, in my humble opinion, strong eso-forces could not allow for regularity, in our over regulated modern lives.

Having said this, I am aware of the above statements lack of objectivity, and it being strongly influenced by my character, personality, and past experience. Though, as I mentioned in the first line, you are being introduced into my world views. One seldom finds such clarity and honesty, which I hope my readers will value, in a still religious thought dominated world, with an overbearing belief in absolutes.

Where I Live

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Brief Definitions

Life

Life is actually one of the most difficult terms to define, without ending up in circular arguments. Hence the currently accepted definitions are somewhat vague and rather descriptive, at least to a philosopher.

In our context though, life is meant as human life. In other words, we are referring to human existence in the period between birth and death, the hallmark events of life. A life comes into existence with birth, and seizes its self controlled existence with death. Even though a life will vanish from reality, it still has a potential to influence the reality post existence in the form of a historic being - an existence referred to by living human beings. But this form of existence is no longer under control of the human being whom had a life.

Style

Style is a generic terms, a quality which relies on an object to which it is attributed. The object of style can be a variety of concepts, such as fashion, genre, art, or any form of human activity, to name just the most prominent.

The above suggests an anthropic origin, which is not the case. As style describes a property, which can be observed and attributed to animate as well as inanimate creatures and objects. Humans do have a seemingly unique capacity to develop a style consciously, at least as far as our contemporary knowledge and perception of other forms of existence allow for.

Back in my active graf-art days, there was much discussion in the community in regards to whom had "style". Only displaying their complete ignorance of the concept itself. The problem laying in the unqualified assumption of there existing a hirarchy of styles, with "good" at the top and "bad" at the bottom. Completely ignorant to this being merely a question of taste, which can never have an absolute measure.

There is considerable discourse in linguistic regarding stylistics, as an extension of the genre concept, and as a tool of measurement and distinction.

Style is a complex quality, a pattern we observe allowing for distinction from other forms of style.

Design

Design is a willful and intelligent creation, with purposeful and aesthetic intent.

Lifestyle

Lifestyle in the context of my sig, is understood as the pattern found in a persons conduction of life. This can be consciously done, as in design, but in most cases just emerges from unrelated decision made by an individual.

It includes a persons appearance, as well as being a determining factor in coming to conclusions and decisions.

Lifestyle is what distinguishes human beings, in how they live their daily lives.