I am currently studying computer science at NTNU. I previously used to do office work for Creditinform, Brønnøysundregistrene and Dun & Bradstreet. The picture below shows a hectic day at work at Dun & Bradstreet (summer 1999):

Some of my interests:

Programming. Back in 1986 I learned BASIC, but the really interesting thing was machine code for the Commodore 64, where I actually programmed using the decimal representations of the machine code commands! After a while, I got a machine code monitor and was finally able to program using the mnemonics. During the years between 1988 and 1991 I was active in a well known programming group called Megastyle Incorporated. The history of Megastyle can be read here. In 1989 I was somewhat into programming on the Amiga, where I experimented with BASIC and assembler. In 1991 I learned Turbo Pascal, one year before I bought myself a PC. I touched assembler programming on the PC, but it became too tedious, and Pascal was sufficient for what I wanted to do. A few years later I started using C, using the somewhat limited Borland C++ compilator. After a while I reverted to Turbo Pascal again, because I found it easier (it's hard to get used to pointers when being spoiled by Pascal's string handling). Then I started the process of learning Visual C++ and SQL, and I worked on setting up one Linux and one Windows PC in a network, so that I could develop multi-platform programs (DOS, Windows, Linux) using one single source code. That plan was short-lived, as I never took the time to learn Linux properly. Then I switched to DJGPP and Allegro. After installing Windows 2000 I ran into problems using DJGPP, so I changed (again) to Dev-C++, but keeping Allegro, and luckily not breaking compatibility with my old source codes. Lately my interests have shifted from creating small games and unfinished programs to learning algorithms/mathematics and solving algorithmic problems. In between I'm learning 3d graphics with the goal of making a 3d engine with enough features to create a game from it. Some of the things I have done are: 150 demo parts, a dozen games, a handful utilities and tons of useless stuff. I've solved many problems at the Valladolid online judge and I participate regularly in contests held by Valladolid, Topcoder and USACO. Here's a picture of Megastyle at a meeting in 1991 (me to the right):

Games. I am a hopeless game addict. I own a huge collection of Commodore 64 games. In general I enjoy good games from all kinds of genres (though I've grown tired of first person shooters, except from high quality ones like Mafia, Grand Theft Auto etc.), but I have a special passion for puzzle games and games with highscore lists on the internet. I have the tendency of devoting irrationally much time just in order to get some more points, so I can climb just one place on the list... My favourite games include: (Commodore 64): Alter Ego, Thrust, Wizball, Uridium, Wonderboy, Zak McKracken, Pirates, Gunship, Head over Heels, Summer/Winter/World Games. (Amiga): Emerald Mine, Lemmings, Turrican 2. (PC): Railroad Tycoon, Covert Action, Civilization, Colonization, Alpha Centauri (Yes, I'm a huge Sid Meier Fan!), Chessmaster, Day of the Tentacle, Monkey Island, Ultima Underworld, Dune 2, the GTA series (3 and up), Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, Call of Duty, Mafia, Sherlock Holmes and the case of the Silver Earring), Stronghold, The Typing of the Dead, Tropico, many of the old Sierra adventure games with typing (King's Quest etc). (Arcade): Bombjack, Dance Dance Revolution. (Playstation 2): Katamari Damacy, We love Katamari. (X-Box): Burnout 3, Mercenaries. (Board games): Chess, Advanced Civilization, 1830, Scrabble, Gruble. Much played games due to my highscore addiction: Minesweeper, Jezzball, Chip's Challenge, Bricks (a Klotski variant), BD4 and Civilization 2.
Music. It's perhaps a bit stupid to say that I am interested in music when I doesn't master any instrument of any kind (though I sometimes find myself toying around on the guitar or the piano). In my opinion music is the finest form for art that exists. As with games, I can enjoy music from almost all genres (except from hip-hop). I used to have no genre preference, but now I find myself listening more to black metal than other genres. Some of my favourite bands/artists are: Vaakevandring, Antestor, Arvinger, Slechtvalk, Sanctifica, Crimson Moonlight, Kekal (black metal), Antidemon, Extol (death metal), Seven Angels (power metal), Ottar "Big Hand" Johansen, Bjøro Håland (country), Fliflet/Hamre Energiforsyning (folk), Mr. Bungle (experimental rock), Knutsen & Ludvigsen (children's humour), Kim Wilde (pop), most entries from the Eurovision Song Contest (especially rejected songs from Finland and Turkey). And lastly, I must add that I used to compose my own music from time to time in the past. Back in the old Megastyle days, I sometimes filled in a missing tune in a silent demo part, or I made a funny cover version of another song. I'm not a musician, but it's fun to create and play music.

Sometimes I do something completely else, either to relax or to get some variation. When I am in that mood, I usually solve crossword puzzles, play chess, read a book, or leaving the confines of my computer room for a small bike trip.

(c) 2006 Ruben Spaans