Where is everyone at?

[Amailer]

Hey!

I still have the password to my account on this website (thanks to a password manager). Been so long!

@Dan, @Tony, you guys still around?

How is everyone doing - what is everyone up to!

[Brightguy]

Good question! I still remember browsing the site in the SWAT days---legend said that the site was hosted from a computer in Dan's basement. Most of us were high school students at the time, and 2004 was big deal because it was when a number of us started university (Dan, Tony, Martin, bugz, and myself just from memory). We went to Waterloo except for Dan who went to Lakehead, so naturally there was some rivalry on the forums.

I recall at that time Martin and Tony said they wanted to become professors. Later Tony mentioned considering graduate school and Dan made some comments about pursing a PhD in London. That was a decade or so ago and there hasn't been much discussion since then.

Thanks guys for running this site all these years. In the words of someone I met in my first week at Waterloo: "best site ever"

[SNIPERDUDE]

I still come back here to lurk every once in a while. Good to see this place still around every time.

What's everyone doing these days?

I'm still making games, here's my current project:
https://ivory-lion-games.itch.io/pongslaught

Turing feels like so long ago now

[scholarlytutor]

I didn't know about this website during the time I was learning Turing in high school. But even today I use the Turing language sometimes, usually to make basic text apps for my students (for learning math and grammar).

[SNIPERDUDE]

I don't regret Turing being my intro to coding, it was a great way to be introduced.

It's cool to see it still being used today. The old Turing binary or openTuring?

[scholarlytutor]

Me too. I actually wonder if some languages like Python can make it confusing to learn strongly typed languages later on. I feel that Turing did a good job preparing me for a language like C.

I'm using Open Turing, though I have a copy of DOS Turing to run my older programs.

There's also Turing+ from Queen's University, but I haven't tried it yet:
https://research.cs.queensu.ca/home/cordy/pub/downloads/tplus/

[SNIPERDUDE]

While proud of my old Turing projects I'm sure I'd cringe at looking at the old code. Helped me get to where I am though.

Didn't know about Turing+, I had no idea outside this forum there were people who even cared about Turing. That said it was likely started by someone from here. So it's still being updated even? Crazy

[Amailer]

Incredible!

I am a developer at a non-profit company in Toronto (eh, sort of - thanks to Covid I haven't been in Toronto for a few months). Ended up going to university for business however! Crazy how much life has changed.

I believe Dan did get his PhD (or was very close to it?). I have not really heard from Tony as much.

Sadly all the previous means of communication I had with them have since died (MSN...)

[scholarlytutor]

Sniperdude: I hear ya. I have a program I finished in grade 9 which, if I was making it today, could probably be written using 1/4 or even less lines of code.

Turing+ was Dr. James Cordy's creation I believe. He and Ric Holt are the ones that originally made Turing. Ric Holt unfortunately passed away last year.

Amailer: I was really into coding as a teenager, but I ended up studying psychology in university and then teaching. I only got back into coding in my late 20s/early 30s.

Dan is still around (he maintains this website). He just hasn't been active recently.

[SNIPERDUDE]

So Turing+ would be an official successor then? Neat

Hello Dan, whenever you see this. Been a long time

[Dan]

Still alive! I did get the PhD and have taught at Western as a lecturer for a bit.

Had a crazy time with grad school; house burned down and took part of the neighborhood with it (got blamed personally for this by the local press and some neighbors), had a daughter, gallbladder tried to kill me, PhD supervisor passed away and my daughter became rather ill and needed to say in hospital for a few months.

As such I have been rather occupied but things are looking better now. Graduated, house rebuilt and my daughter is doing well. Just in time for a global pandemic.

[SNIPERDUDE]

Really cool to hear from you again Dan, been a tumultuous journey for you it seems. Life's a journey ain't it

Went through a lot too but that's a story for another time. Right now just focusing on moving back to Nova Scotia, been in Ontario long enough

EDIT: Was just packing my things for the move and came across some old notes. For all sorts of old games I designed and/or made, but was surprised to find something as far back as notes for my GUI lib made in Turing all those years ago. Notes on features, todo, etc.

[Amailer]

That's crazy Dan - glad things are getting better. Crazy to think you are now a Dad though, haha. People here started off from high school!

What a wild ride. Glad everyone is safe.


P.S. Anyone interested in a senior (web) developer position - please let me know! Looking to fill a position.

[SNIPERDUDE]

Web dev is my kryptonite, I followed a path of game programming.

Hope you find a good fill for the position

[ATR2400]

It's a shame I only found my interest in computer science AFTER this place fell to darkness. Perhaps one day there will be a revival.