About This Site

I’m a sucker for history, if not a good student of it, so when I get a chance, I indulge a little in the background of a subject. And that’s what the rest of this page is about–some self-indulgence; in particular, a historical account of my meager niche on the web. So if you’re interested such things, keep on reading along, otherwise, I’m certain there’s something much cooler to look at on YouTube.

Spin up the wayback machine and set the dial for June, 1995. I had seen someone show off a web page or two back in the fall of ’94, but hadn’t been too impressed by the concept of hyperlinks. Nevertheless, at a college reunion, my friends, Steve Luminati and Tom Pixley, insisted this new technology was pretty cool and guided me through the construction my own web page.

“To create a paragraph,” said Steve, “use the less-than sign, followed by the letter ‘p’, followed by the greater-than sign. Then follow it with whatever you want to show up on the screen.”¹

“Really? That’s all there is to it?” A few moments later: “Wow. There it is.”

“Next I’ll show you how to embed an image.”

“You can show graphics? Cool!”

And a web addict was born.

Not long later, I created my first web page and called it “Biggles 2000: The Gateway to the Next Generation”, the nickname and tag line I had given my desktop PC². It resided on the web server of the Department of Biological Sciences at Purdue University, a single, static page among another 23,500 or so web sites in the world. I don’t recall too much about it other than it had a Photoshopped logo, probably some info about me, and probably some links. Basically, your standard web page at the time.

The original Biggles 2000 logo. It greeted folks to my single, static home page during the latter half of 1995.

Only a few months passed before I scrapped it in favor of another design, one I entitled “Mind ‘Scapes”³, which focused on my interest in science and sported snazzier graphics. Alas, this incarnation’s life was as brief as its predecessor–I ultimately decided my web site should truly be more personal than a bunch of links about science: It should be a bunch of links about science and other things I liked. I also decided it ought to demonstrate my talents of a web developer by incorporating the two latest trends in browser technologies: JavaScript and Frames.

Thus was born the second generation of the “Biggles 2000″, which divided my web site into seven areas of personal interests and incorporated it all into a “gateway” motif. But despite rave reviews from fellow web smiths, I abhorred my latest creation for at least two reasons: (1) It was just a bunch of links, and (2) the entire site was totally dependent on JavaScript and Frames. Oh, the irony!

A collage representing two generations of my web site. On the left, the original Mind 'Scapes logo, complete with exploding brain. At the top right, two "quotes" from the Mind 'Scapes site, heavily influenced by Monty Python, of course. Below the quotes are arranged the seven "personal" gateways of Biggles 2000.

So I simplified. I removed the JavaScript and Frames; I replaced the links with actual content, including a whole slew of original artwork. I also renamed the site because I felt the name, “Biggles 2000″, though affectionate, was a tad silly, not necessarily reflective of the professional web developer I hoped to portray at that time in my career. I returned to the name, “Mind ‘Scapes”, and lo! the fourth iteration of my web site arose from the ashes in early 1998… and there it lingered for over a dozen years.

The logo (and greeting) for the second iteration of "Mind 'Scapes", and the fourth iteration of my personal web site.

Why did the fourth generation of my web site live so much longer than its ancestors? Well, first and foremost, I really liked it, as did many others. For its time, it had a very professional-looking design. The secondary pages, divided into four areas of interest, possessed a tight, crisp look and layout, each with its own color scheme and style of presentation. All artwork was my own. And content! There was actual content! Including a friendly guide to my graduate work in neuroscience, as well as links to my personal publications and games.

Of course, in the realm of computer technology, the young and the restless rapidly age into the old and stagnant. Within a few years, the site was mostly out-of-date. I had moved on from my graduate work, my place of employment had changed several times, and my interests had shifted. I occasionally updated the web site–for example, I replaced antiquated “FONT” tags with appropriate CSS–but for the most part, the site lay dormant. I never added anything about the “Ultima V: Lazarus” project upon which I spent five years, and I never mentioned Harvard University, my place of employment for close to a decade.

People remarked that I should update or renovate the site, make it more “modern”, whatever that meant. I remember one of my employees laughing in 2008: “Your site looks so 1990′s.” When I asked him to explain, exactly, what made it so archaic, he shrugged, claiming not to be able to put a finger on it. But he was right. The site was a throwback, equivalent to someone my age still sporting a mullet and parachute pants⁴.

Still, perhaps because of nostalgia, but probably more due to lack of motivation and plain laziness, the web site remained as is. Every now and then, I investigated replacing it with one of those new-fangled blog things. Unfortunately, I would get distracted… or just bored… or just… who knows? Revamping my personal web space never became a priority. After all, I developed and managed web applications for a living–no need to indulge in my own site since I spent 8 hours a day dealing with the sites of others.

I’m not certain what changed in August, 2010. If I can identify a turning point, it would be  “The People’s Republic of Interactive Fiction“, a simple web site I volunteered to help create and maintain in March, 2010. Designing and implementing this community site sparked something in me, a creative flame of web design that had been dim for many years. And I think teaching about basic web site development fanned that flame, as well.

So here it is: Generation the fifth, neither “Biggles 2000″ nor “Mind ‘Scapes”, although cribbing from both.  It’s dynamic, built on third-party software, already incorporated into Web 2.0, and unlike its predecessor, pretty easy (and fun, so far) to update. Hopefully, it will continue to live long and prosper, just as I hope to do. And because it’s difficult for me to let go of good things, the old web site still haunts the web. Peruse this piece of nostalgia if you wish.