Avdi Grimm
Who is Avdi Grimm?
I am a bipedal, long-haired mammal residing near York, Pennsylvania, USA. I’m a husband, father, and cat cushion. I write software, write and speak about writing software, host podcasts, and consume dangerous amounts of coffee.
What does your typical day look like?
I get up between 10 and 11AM EST, and hang out with my wife and kids until noon. At noon I go down to my office in the basement and work until 7PM. “Working” for me is some combination of: answering emails, attending meetings remotely, writing code for clients, writing blog posts, researching and writing for a book, hacking on one of my personal coding projects, recording screencasts, podcasting, remote pair-programming or tutoring, or pacing around my office thinking about my next scheme to take over the world. From 7 to 10 I eat dinner, spend some more time with the family, and put the younger kids to bed. Then it’s back to work until 2-3AM.
What do you do in your free time?
Pretty much all of my non-work time is spent chilling with my wife and four kids.
Where and when did you start programming?
When I was twelve or thirteen I taught myself REXX on OS/2 so I could write text adventure games. My first program was a work of interactive fiction which told the poignant tale of two rooms, one of which contained a cat, the other of which did not.
Favorite: Programming Languages, Frameworks?
I’m a polyglot programmer, but I’ve particularly enjoyed working with Ruby since I came across it back in 2001. It strikes a rare balance between pragmatism, expressiveness, and conceptual elegance.
What OS do you prefer?
Any Debian-derived GNU/Linux distribution. I’ve used DOS, OS/2, Solaris, Mac OS 9 and OS X, assorted Linux distros, as well as countless flavors of Windows. Debian Linux is still the only one where I can be confident that any program I might need is just a “sudo apt-get install” away from being installed, configured, and ready to go.
Current favorite apps?
Emacs and Org-Mode.
Small picture for your Workplace?
Name something that has inspired you recently?
My colleagues at CodeBenders inspire me to be a better programmer every day.
What do you prefer? Freelance work or full time employment?
Definitely freelance. Freelance work has given me the flexibility to pursue a lot of projects that just weren’t possible while I was full-time employed. I can choose to allocate my time to my own pursuits without feeling like I’m stealing time from my employer.
What are your goals for 2012?
Stay home, write more books, and try ALL of the bourbons.
