---
title: "Programming"
date: 2022-07-27T07:41:37+01:00
draft: true
---

### BASIC

Programming started in circa 1985 with BASIC on the Sinclair Spectrum 48K. I was able to do basic looping, make things flash, beep and do more complex things by copying code from books and magazines. Earned a Computing badge at Scouts after making a database (in rudimentary BASIC) for my Dad's antique business.

### HTML/Javascript

Worked in the web team of a UK Government Department as a "Web Producer", converting to HTML Word documents sent to us on 1.44MB floppy drives. Javascript back then was for making things pop-up and flash.

Had various hobby blogs and web sites, hosted for free using space provided by my ISP (Pipex?), including one that stuck, [MadHaddy](https://web.archive.org/web/20020216192240/http://www.madhaddy.com/), about my home town in Scotland. Over a couple of years it got quite a following. One of the pubs in the town complained about the site calling it out for serving under-age drinkers. Conversations relating to drugs appears on the forums. After two years I took it down to minimise the hassle. I wish the images were still available on the archive because MadHaddy was largely an exercise "satirical" photography for me - I enjoyed confusing the populace by Photoshopping photos of the town. Also, the purile writing... Great fun.

I still prefer flat-file web sites now of course.

### Ruby

Round about 2004, I got sucked into the Ruby/Rails wave of popularity. It was cool, but never really stuck, other than as a gateway to more sustainable drugs...

### Python

... such as Python, which did stick.