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 <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHjFxJVeCQs">YouTube</a>.

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, <a href="http://digitalathene.com">Steve Luminati</a> and <a href="http://www.joki.com/">Tom Pixley</a>, 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. I've always been curious about how people remember exact quotations of discussions that they have had. Do they record them? Do they have photographic memories? I don't, so the conversation I present is paraphrased--and by paraphrased, I mean I remember it happening, but I'm completely making the words up.]

"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 PC[2. Based on the old PC company, Gateway 2000, and my favorite sci-fi show at the time, <em>Star Trek: The Next Generation</em>. See how it all fits together?]. It resided on the web server of the <a title="Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue U" href="http://www.bio.purdue.edu/" target="_blank">Department of Biological Sciences</a> at <a title="Purdue University" href="http://www.purdue.edu" target="_blank">Purdue University</a>, a single, static page among another <a title="WWW Growth" href="http://www.zakon.org/robert/internet/timeline/#Growth" target="_blank">23,500 or so web sites in the world</a>. 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.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="407" caption="The original Biggles 2000 logo. It greeted folks to my single, static home page during the latter half of 1995."]<img title="Biggles 2000: The Gateway to the Next Generation" src="http://www.biggles2k.com/images/blog/about/biggs2k.gif" alt="The original Biggles 2000 logo" width="407" height="230" />[/caption]

Only a few months passed before I scrapped it in favor of another design, one I entitled "Mind 'Scapes"[3. The "'Scapes" portion being a combination of land<em>scapes</em> and e<em>scapes</em>. Never said I was original.], 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!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="A collage representing two generations of my web site. On the left, the original Mind &#39;Scapes logo, complete with exploding brain. At the top right, two &quot;quotes&quot; from the Mind &#39;Scapes site, heavily influenced by Monty Python, of course. Below the quotes are arranged the seven &quot;personal&quot; gateways of Biggles 2000."]<img class="   " title="A collage of two generations of web sites." src="http://www.biggles2k.com/images/blog/about/web_site_collage.jpg" alt="Mind 'Scapes v1.0 and Biggles 2000 v2.0." width="400" height="265" />[/caption]

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.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="The logo (and greeting) for the second iteration of &quot;Mind &#39;Scapes&quot;, and the fourth iteration of my personal web site."]<img title="Mind 'Scapes: Imagination has no limits" src="http://www.biggles2k.com/images/blog/about/mind_scapes_modern_logo.jpg" alt="Mind 'Scapes v2.0 logo" width="400" height="293" />[/caption]
<p style="text-align: left;">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.</p>
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 <a title="Mullets" href="http://www.google.com/images?q=mullet" target="_blank">mullet</a> and <a title="Parachute pants--never owned a pair." href="http://www.google.com/images?q=parachute+pants" target="_blank">parachute pants</a>[4. I never wore the latter, but had the former.].

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  "<a title="People's Republic of Interactive Fiction" href="http://www.pr-if.org/">The People's Republic of Interactive Fiction</a>", 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 <a title="Web 2.0" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0" target="_blank">Web 2.0</a>, and unlike its predecessor, pretty easy (and fun, so far) to update. Hopefully, it will continue to <a title="Live long and prosper" href="http://www.biggles2k.com/images/blog/about/live_long.jpg" target="_blank">live long and prosper,</a> just as I hope to do. And because it's difficult for me to let go of good things, <a title="Mind 'Scapes" href="http://www.biggles2k.com/old_index.html" target="_blank">the old web site still haunts the web</a>. Peruse this piece of nostalgia if you wish.