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Alan Dague-Greene
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About me
« on: February 11, 2006, 11:43:08 PM » |
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I've been on this site for a little while, but never really introduced myself. I'm like the guy who just shows up and pretends to be chummy with everyone. Well, that ends today. No more Mr Nice Guy! Actually, just no more Mr Hasn't Properly Introduced Himself.
My day job is at a graphic design firm in Boulder, Colorado, US. I do a lot of web stuff (both HTML and Flash), but I also do plenty of printed materials. The company I work for is well known in the community for its non-profit work, so we get to work on projects that are fun and actually make a difference. We also work on stuff that's not so fun, and not really making much of a difference, but it's all part of the job.
My night job is working on fonts. I have a one-person company that does all kinds of font-related work. I've been designing my own typefaces for more than 10 years. A lot of what I do for clients is just adjusting something that they already have, to make it more custom. Occasionally I get a request for a complete set of original fonts, or maybe someone wants a custom font that mimicks handwriting. More often than not, they find out the price, and I never hear from them again. (It can take months of intense work to create even a single, well-made font, and I'm not shy about charging what I think it's worth.) Some of my own fonts have been in development for more than five years, and I'm still not happy with them.
Then, there's my night night job, and that's right here on HBS. I can't remember when I first found this site, but I do remember being utterly shocked to discover that there were other people in the world who wanted to build their own camera stabilizer. I had wanted to build one since junior high school (7th grade, when I was 12), but it was always one of those mystical things I never thought I'd actually do. Like writing a novel, or skydiving, or sex. Did I just say that?
My first stabilizer was dreadful. It cost me a lot of money, it was time-consuming, and the results were rather disappointing. I did my best to ignore much of the advice on this site, not because I thought I could do better, but because I set out some unrealistic restraints for myself. I had certain parts that I was determined to use, even if they didn't make sense. That is still somewhat the case for my second stabilizer, but I'm much more educated this time around. I'm very pleased with how it's going.
I've spent so much time on this site, that when I finally stepped into the Tiffen shop in California, and for the first time saw real Steadicam equipment in living color, I felt like I had already seen everything. Sure, it was great to be there, but I had looked at so many pictures that nothing caught me by surprise. "Oh, yeah, that's an Ultra sled. Hm, Flyer arms, cool."
I have other random interests fighting for my time. I speak a bit of Russian, and I'm enrolled in an Arabic class now. I have an on-off relationship with 3D. I used to make maps for games (Marathon and Unreal, specifically), because I've always been fascinated by architecture. I play drums, but don't have a drum set. I can make a mean Thai peanut sauce. I love theoretical physics, photography, ancient Egypt, Indian food, movies, and riding my scooter. This is starting to sound like a personals ad!
That's all about me.
Alan
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