I’m a computer nerd.
I started programming in 1976, as a contributor to Oregon Trail in HP 2000A BASIC on the TIES system using a Teletype Model 33.
I’ve worked at Adobe on Adobe Graphics Server, Adobe Document Server, and Premiere Pro CS2 through CS5.
And Microsoft on Expression Blend, Visual Studio, and Internet Explorer 10 and 11 in the F12 tools.
A few years at Starkey.
And once again at Adobe, on Photoshop.
I have worked in a lot of languages. Assembly (6502, 68000), C, BASIC, FORTRAN, Pascal, Scheme and LISP, C++, Java, Perl, Python, Objective-C, JavaScript, and C♯. (And dabbled in F♯, Swift, D, Assembly 8086, and quite a few others.)
If you are a beginner, I recommend using Python as the language to use to learn to program. If you have a particular project, such as an app on Android then use Java (or Kotlin), or an app on iPhone then use Swift.
My favorite languages are: D for programming, Python for scripting, and Lua for embedded scripting.
The language I program in mostly is C++, in my day to day job.
If I were to do functional programming, I think I would pick OCaml (or F♯ which is basically OCaml for .NET). I like it better than Haskell or Scala (for JVM). LISP is not a function first functional programming language — sorry Lisp programmers, that’s my 2¢. Just as you can do OOP in C, you can do FP in Lisp... and likewise sucks.
And I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science, from the University of Minnesota Institute of Technology. (After having previous majored in physics, then linguistics.)
Also played many pen-and-paper role playing games. D&D, AD&D (Dave Arneson played in my campaign, at my house), Warhammer FRPG, and GURPS. Haven’t been playing now since 2001, but if I did get back in the swing of things I’d pick up something much lighter weight like Fudge, Risus, T&T, or Wushu.
Nostalgia lane...
I consider AD&D/1e to be MM, PHB, DMG, and DDg. I consider the subsequent books to be "1.5", and I did not use them: FF, MM2, LL, OA, UA, DSG, WSG, MoP, and DA. GA was a 1e/2e hybrid, and came out during the transition from 1e to 2e.
I liked original D&D (Gygax & Arneson). I did not like BD&D (Holmes), or B/X (Moldvay, Cook & Marsh). I did not play BECMI (Mentzer).
AD&D/1e was my favorite. I did not like "1.5". I did not like 2e or 2R. I did not like 3e or 3.5. I played 4e a little, and thought it was okay — the group that I played with grew to hate it, though. I played 5e a little, and thought it was okay.
My pet peeve is people that think BD&D or B/X D&D are the original D&D.
My other pet peeve is people that think AD&D came from BD&D or B/X D&D.
BD&D was created from original D&D and contemporanesouly from the work-in-progress AD&D. BD&D was intended as a kinder, gentler, simpler introduction to the game. Especially for new gamers who were unfamiliar with tabletop wargaming. After achieving 3rd level and mastering the simplified game mechanics, BD&D directs players to move to AD&D. In modern parlance, BD&D was a "Starter Set".
These days I play World of Warcraft, or Darkest Dungeon. Once in a while I play Angband or my favorite strategy games Master of Magic (news flash: Slitherine is making Master of Magic 2!), or Master of Orion.
I have a wife, two kids, two dogs, two cats.
I am a Pantheist.
My name is John Love-Jensen, but everyone calls me Eljay.
Eljay comes from L.J., and that came from Little John.
Little John was from my childhood, since most my friends were named John. There was a Big John who was older than me (and shorter than me!), but he moved to California when I was still quite young.