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Bio: Richard Rogers 21-Nov-2001 -- Susan Pichotta This week's interview is with one of our more colorful characters. He's been a logger, a soda jerk, a bosun's mate, and now... He's one of the Clarion crazies. He has interesting hobbies, has lived in unusual places, and is one of the more helpful, nice guys among us. 
Who do you work for?I work for SMS Development and Support AS in Oslo, Norway. Our website is at www.sms.no. We produce POS Software and Hardware for the food and beverage industry. Our market covers most of Europe. SMS has been producing software for the food and beverage industry for over 9 years, I joined them over 2 years ago on a contract job and liked the company and the work so much I decided to stay. In addition to that, I am a third party tool provider. That is, in my spare time, I write tools for Clarion developers. I can be found at www.sylkie.com What do you like best about what you do now? That would have to be the people I work with. We have an incredible team that simply throws their arms around each other and plows through problems. The food industry is extremely interesting. Just when you think you've covered all of the bases, someone opens a restaurant in a resort that wants to sell guests fresh fish from a lake and so you have to track what the guest catches, or someone else will want to allow their customers to pay their bill by using their cell phone. With Clarion we can respond quickly to very unusual requests and still keep up with the ever changing accounting requirements of several different countries in and around Europe. Right now, of course, we're dealing with the Euro conversion. 
This is the whole gang I work with, including most of our European distributors.
This is the square in Piran, Slovenia, a little seacoast town on the Adriatic.
We spent 4 days in Slovenia during the spring of 1999. This is an incredible place and
must be seen to be believed.What has been one of your biggest challenges in using Clarion? I would have to say name recognition of the Clarion product. Those who really know of it don't need to be sold. They understand. But the people who have never taken the time to observe the performance of developers using the product can be a real challange. What has been one of your biggest challenges in business? Corporate mentality. I prefer to work with a team. It's the social give and take that gives life it's spice. But all too often I found the corporate concept of a team environment as one where the leader dictates what, how and when everyone else under him (or her) shall interact. I have worked at one firm where it was actually dictated to us what subjects were appropriate for discussion between employees. I prefer to work with friends I can trust and care for deeply. Do you use any computer languages besides Clarion? I have been known to use VB on occasion. But usually only when I've been drinking heavily. I do study C++ because that is the basis of so much. I don't write applications in C++, but I perform C++ "experiments" to see what's happening under the hood. When did you start using Clarion? I started using Clarion with "Personal Developer", purchased for $69.00 from Egghead in Portland, Oregon. It was a turning point in my life. I was helping out some sailing friends and I wrote a database for cruising sailors called QuarterMaster. I figured I would sell a few copies around the Marinas in Portland. QuarterMaster ended up going farther afield than I ever dreamed and I ended up licensing everyone from cruising sailors to commercial fishermen all around the world. I even had one license go to Switzerland. I pondered that for a long time. Cruising. In Switzerland. QuarterMaster is nearly ready to be re-released in it's Windows version. 
The little pocket cruiser "Lookfar", my first sailboat. She looks fat and slow,
but I laid lead sheets on the inside hull, next to her centerboard so she would stand upright.
Then I put every tweak into her fractional rig I could devise. She sailed like a witch.What's the coolest project(s) you've worked on using Clarion? That would have to be a website that belongs to the OCCA, The Oregon Computer Consultants Assocation. I built a database that listed all of the member developers, what products they supported, and what services they provided. A simple parent child database with three files. Then I produced the entire website, 350+ pages, by writing all of the information out to separate webpages for each consultant. Not much of a trick now. But I did it with Clarion 2.0. It was a lot of fun. Have you done anything for a living other than software development? My job history? In order... Restaraunt dishwasher, stock boy for Montgomery Wards, busboy at the Tapedera Lounge in Pendleton, Oregon, Soda Jerk at the Frostop in Pendleton, Oregon, psychiatric aide in The Dalles Oregon and at Dammisch State Hospital, Bosun's mate, U.S. Navy, Choker setter on high lead in Seiad California, cat skinner for a small gypo logging company in the Cascades, Computer Operator at Evans products in Portland Oregon, same for National Inventory Control Systems, also in Portland, Computer operator for Champion International in Eugene Oregon, and then I went to work for the bank. I worked for the same bank for 12 years. It was sold four times and changed names and letterheads 5 times. The last time it was sold we were told we could move to Hamilton, Ohio if we wanted to keep our jobs. I quit the bank and bought a boat. 
What do you like to do when you're not using Clarion?I sail, I shoot traditional wood longbow and I torture small trees (bonsai). Where were you born? Binghamton, New York, 1948. Yep, I'm a proud product of the aftermath of the second World War. Where do you live now? Lysaker, Norway. Lysaker is a quiet "suburb" of Oslo. What do you like/is interesting about where you live? You mean other than lutefisk? It has to be the people. Norwegians have a well deserved reputation for being quiet and reserved. On the whole they will generally say little, will keep their distance, and are not quick to judge. But once conversation is joined, the smiles are warm and genuine and filled with an incredible and subtle humor. Norway is a hard country. It is built on what was left over after the glaciers scoured the land of usable topsoil. The forests here grow out of solid rock. So do the people. Have you lived any other interesting places? When I left the bank, I moved onto my 34 foot sailboat, "The Lucky Lady". I stayed in the Portland area but managed to sail up and down the west coast, Puget Sound, and even got down into Mexico for a while. I lived aboard the Lady for 9 years. We had some good times.  Giving my little Korean Ash a haircut. This fall it's foliage turned bright scarlet for nearly a week. I also keep a few small evergreens. Which person, from past or present, do you most admire and why? 
That's easy. Mahatma Ghandi. He was a man who absloutely lived according to his
ideals and convictions. His response to violence was peacful action, presented in such a way as
to completely overwhelm the violence. But it's still a tough call, I would have to add the
Dalai Lama and Stephan Hawking to make a list of most admired, and that would lead to Chief
Joseph (tribal leader), Jiddu Krishnamurti (philosopher) and Mark Twain (all around pain in the
butt).What is your favorite food? My sailing buds, Kim and Chris Taylor, taught me a special way to barbeque steaks. It involves hickory chips, a special seasoning salt, intricate ritualistic preparations and about two six packs. The steak melts in your mouth. What is your favorite drink? Linje Akavit. No question. Akavit is a nearly tastless spirit that is flavored in the cask with carraway seeds. With most akavits, this just makes for an unusual and tart flavor. But Linje Akavit is very special. It is produced here in Norway, and the akavit is placed in kegs, in the hold of a Norwegian freighter. It is then sent out and not returned until it has crossed the equator. Hence the name, Linje (line) akavit. The motion of the ship keeps the carraway constantly churning in the spirits and imparts a flavor to the spirits that is next to heaven. What is your favorite type of music? Let's see... The Pogues, Christine Lavin, and Vanessa-Mae is a witch. Eagles, Terry Allen, Loreena McKennit. But best is sea chanties, self sung with drunken friends on the deck of a good wooden ship. If Clarion never existed, what do you think you would be doing at this time? Building boats. Without a doubt. Anything else you want to mention? The Sylkie is a creature out of Nordic legend. Selkies (for so they are properly called) are "Seal people", one of the many types of skin changers of Northern legend. A Selkie lives as a seal in the ocean, but comes ashore in the guise of a fair man or maiden to work it's charms upon the land folk. Legend has it that you can gain control over a Selkie if you can get hold of the skin it has shed to come ashore. My skin is well hidden. The Sylkie came about as I lived on my boat and sold my software around the docks. The BBS's of the time required a login, usually a handle, and I started using Sylkie. It seemed appropriate. For, "I was a man upon the land, and I was a Selkie upon the sea".  An older photo, 1993 or so. The bow size is deceptive because of the camera angle. It's an English longbow made by a master bowyer and fletcher who lives in Sherwood Forest. Even strung the bow is nearly as tall as I am. |
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