Helvensteijn.com

I’m a guy named Colin Helvensteijn, also known under the nicknames raptor and raptorNL. I’m 28 years of age and live in a town called Oosterhout in the south of the Netherlands (map).

Computers

I like computers. I’m particularly into scripting and web design. I write (X)HTML and CSS pretty much blindfolded, however my graphics skills are less than stellar. Some people say that I’m quite proficient with PHP and JavaScript.

I used to build web sites for friends and once in a while for a small company, but I stopped doing that a while ago. I am, at least for the time being, not interested in new jobs of that nature.

I do also use my computer for other (less nerdy) things, like simply browsing the Web, communicating with others in various manners, doing all the paperwork that can be done digitally, or just listening to music or watching video.

My operating system of choice depends on its task. For day-to-day use, I prefer Mac OS X, but for servers, I like Linux best, particularly Debian.

History

I first started using computers when my dad purchased an Apple Macintosh somewhere in the latter 1980′s. I did little more on it than playing with Paintbrush, since there wasn’t much else interesting for five or six-year-olds. A few years later, we got an IBM-compatible 386 running MS-DOS, opening my world to games like Commander Keen and Prince of Persia.

Then we got a 486 with Windows 3.1, which sparked my interest a bit. I started poking around all over the place, learning the basics of computing as I went along. Windows 95 came, along with more graphically sophisticated games. The 486 wasn’t up to that task, so a Pentium at 166 Mhz came to replace it. I could spend hours building and destroying cities in SimCity 2000.

Then came the Internet. We got a dial-up connection pretty early, somewhere in 1995. The World Wide Web wasn’t a very busy place then, and sites were mainly text with some images. Internet forums first started to appear. Despite the WWW being relatively boring compared to today, it caused me to really get into computers. I started trying out all kinds of stuff I encountered on the Web.

In 1999, my dad once again got himself a new PC, a Pentium III at 500 MHz running Windows 98. The old Pentium, also upgraded to Windows 98, became my first very own computer. I installed all kinds of programs and poked around in them. I tried Linux, tried BeOS, both of which were not very usable as a desktop OS at the time. I also started playing with HTML. A game I played a lot was Midtown Madness, while I was also still doing city stuff, by this time in SimCity 3000.

Not long thereafter, I purchased a new PC because the old Pentium really didn’t cut it anymore. It was a Celeron at 633 MHz. I tried Windows Me for a while, but it was so buggy that I quickly went on to Windows 2000, and later Windows XP. I got more proficient with HTML and CSS, and during this time, somewhere around 2002, I registered this domain. Also around then we got our first broadband connection.

In 2004, I purchased a new machine to be able to play the newer games. This was a Pentium 4 running at 2.8 GHz. I was particularly into GTA III, and played GTA Vice City for a while. But I gradually lost interest in games and started doing more nerdy stuff. I taught myself the basics of networking, started scripting in PHP and in 2005 I took the dive into the fascinating world of Linux. I wiped clean my OS partition and started compiling a Gentoo installation. Inside a week, I had a fairly usable system, but there were still some bugs and quirks that led me back to Windows XP for a while.

About a year later, in the summer of 2006, I decided to give Linux another try. This time I opted for Ubuntu. It did everything I wanted and did it well. It eventually even had a 3D desktop cube and wobbly windows along with translucent borders. Unlike Vista, it even looked pretty cool. I haven’t looked back to Windows since (well, maybe just a little, I still have a Windows XP virtual machine for testing purposes mostly).

Then, in early 2007, I got myself an Apple MacBook, mainly because I wanted to try Mac OS X. It made me realize that I should have done that a lot sooner. And since my Pentium 4 fried its main board a few weeks later, it made me switch to OS X permanently. The MacBook served not only as a laptop but — hooked to external monitor, speakers, keyboard and mouse — as my desktop computer as well until October 2008, when I purchased an 24" iMac to relieve it.

I recently started gaming a bit again, namely The Sims 3. I also have some games on my iPhone for those boring moments away from home.

More information and specifications of my computers and some peripheral devices, can be found in the My computers section.

Other hobbies

Besides computers, I also like to watch movies and Star Trek episodes, listen to music (especially symphonic rock/metal like Nightwish, Within Temptation, Epica and bands like that), take a hike and/or just read a good book. I rarely go out anymore. Too noisy, too busy and especially too expensive. Music can be heard anywhere. Fun can be had with friends at any place. Beer can be found in the supermarket for decent prices.

Personal hero

You might have noticed the quote at the home page. My personal hero of all time is definitely George Carlin. That man was truly a genius when it comes to the profession of standup comedian. I can watch or listen to his shows over and over again, and he gets me almost falling out of my chair laughing every time. Especially his “dirty words”, “religion” and “save the planet” routines are amongst the funniest I’ve ever seen or heard.

Career

If you can call it that. After high school (age 18), I pretty much had it with teachers and stuff. That, and the fact that I had no idea what to study at the time, made me find a job instead of going to college. I started off as warehouse employee. A year or so later, I tried catering (shift runner at a Domino’s Pizza store) but that didn’t work out very well. Then, I got into taxi driving, and did that for about four and a half years. After a dispute with my employer, however, I quit and went back to warehouse work for some time. Now, I’m a taxi driver again (at a different company), most of the time driving around in a wheelchair-adapted minibus (Mercedes-Benz Sprinter).

Looking back, I had better stuck with school for a couple more years. Going back to school after being used to earning money, however, is easier said than done. On the other hand, I could always take some evening course or so should I decide that that’s useful or necessary.

Contact

You can e-mail me at colin-NOSPAM-@-NOSPAM-helvensteijn.com or mention @raptorNL on Twitter. More info on the Contact page.