I'm a web developer by trade and avocation. Over time, this site has morphed into being just my weblog, although every now and then I've written an essay or made a presentation that gets archived here.
I work as a web application developer for Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. I work primarily with Java, but I wouldn't say that I'm exactly happy about it: Java is overkill for most of what I do, but it pays the bills. And every now and then, I get excited about working with JSP. Go figure. My real interests lie in languages like Perl, PHP, Python, and Ruby… and yes, JavaScript. It's not because I can't write Java, it's just that I so rarely actively enjoy it. Happily, most of my job nowadays actually relates to user experience design and client-side development.
In my weblog, you'll find bias toward working with open source software (although I harp on that far less than I used to), web application security, everything that gets wrapped up with modern web standards, and good coffee.
Yes, I need to write a better "About" page. And yes, I'm long overdure for a redesign. It's the kid, you see. He keeps me busy.
Have an OED handy? Look up "afong" — "afongen" is just the past participle. Is there a hidden meaning? No, it's just a long-dead word that caught my attention some years back.
…you're free to send email to sam at afongen dot com. I encourage you to use my PGP key to encrypt your message. You can learn more about PGP at pgpi.org, or my own overview of digital signatures and public key encryption. Confused? You don't have to go far to find a good non-technical introduction to PGP.
