I started programming in 1984 (the Apple II, FPBASIC). My interest didn't really take until 1986, when I had a IIe at the library downtown. Once I was allowed to go thru larval stage by spending all my free time there, my interest in computing was here to stay. After that, I went on to do not only programming, but most of the other aspects of computing (hardware, sysadmin, and currently network infrastructure). My interest in programming remains good because of that old Apple, and has actually increased thanks to Perl itself and this site.

I too wish to step in the footprints of the Perl programmers who can reduce my 50-line "program" to less than 80 chars... and I've tried, but I currently find myself falling down huge holes. It'll take time. Things are sticking. If I could teach myself 6502 assembly without much documentation (or a net.presence in 1987), then I think I stand a good chance of doing something great (or even "mediocre++") in Perl. :o)

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Me spell chucker work grate. Need grandma chicken.