tekArtist

I live in Montreal and share my time between a family I adore and a career I am more than passionate about. I started working in the digital/web industry when Netscape’s iconic (but defunct) browser was still an 0.x version (1994) and am currently doing so as an independent consulant.

I am a fervent proponent of Free and Open Source software, but can still discern when a proprietary solution might make more sense in a particular context. In the latter case, and only if explicitly permitted, the code I write to integrate with the said toolkit is released as Open Source for others to use, comment on and maybe contribute to. I believe nothing is better for a code base than being peer reviewed by the people who will actually make use of and potentially rely on it.

Why tekArtist.org?

Because after making a career out of treating technology as an art as much as a science, it was as representative of me as one of my favourite quotes:

It is hard to teach a coder how to think, but trivial to teach a thinker how to code.

I chose a .org domain because most of what I host and publish will often be open by design. And yes, also because uninspiredLuddite.com didn’t really appeal to me as much.

Why use my real name online?

I am very much attached to my privacy and, like many others, felt more comfortable using nicknames and such diversions online before. But I also do understand a fair bit about data mining, and realize that pseudonyms aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.

So in the end, I’d rather treat my online life as I do in meatspace, and:

• stand by what I think and say,
• thrive to act like a civilized human being wherever I drift,
• try to keep track and tight control of my online trail,
• and respect the privacy and opinions of my peers.

I highly recommend it. :)

How about the social thing?

Like so many others in my line of work, I have accounts scattered all over the web, but the online communities that currently are an integral part of my day are Digg, Del.icio.us, Facebook and LinkedIn.