Skating, Cheese and PHP
Gerrit “Remi” te Sligte in an interview with the Enterprise PHP – Management Newsletter
Biographie: Gerrit “Remi” te Sligte
Gerrit te Sligte (23), commonly known as ‘Remi’, started his web development experience in ASP, coming from a Visual Basic desktop development background. After finding out his hosting provider was emulating ASP on a Linux server, he quickly switched to PHP to get a platform that would work as expected, and hasn’t regretted that switch ever since. He has extended his PHP and development knowledge over the years, mostly in commercially oriented businesses, and became a Zend Certified Engineer a year ago. This certification boosted his career, as he was asked to join the Zend DevZone development team, and he now finds himself remote contracting as a PHP Developer for the Zend Technologies eBiz team.
When not working, he spends his time as Senior Developer in the Zend DevZone development team, as the usergroup activities’ manager and PHP Promoter of the Dutch PHP Usergroup, or chasing his friends on his skeelers on the skate track in Gouda and on the roads through the beautiful countryside around Gouda.
Always available for a chat, as social interaction is the key to survival(or so he says), you can find him hanging out in the PHP Community IRC channel, when he is not off meeting people in the flesh at conferences, usergroup meetings, and various other occasions. Gerrit tries to maintain a blog at wolerized.com.
When not working, he spends his time as Senior Developer in the Zend DevZone development team, as the usergroup activities’ manager and PHP Promoter of the Dutch PHP Usergroup, or chasing his friends on his skeelers on the skate track in Gouda and on the roads through the beautiful countryside around Gouda.
Always available for a chat, as social interaction is the key to survival(or so he says), you can find him hanging out in the PHP Community IRC channel, when he is not off meeting people in the flesh at conferences, usergroup meetings, and various other occasions. Gerrit tries to maintain a blog at wolerized.com.
Interview
Enterprise PHP - Management Newsletter: Which country do you live in? What makes it special?
Gerrit “Remi” te Sligte: I live in the Netherlands. It’s special because it’s the port to Europe. Not only because of the major harbour (Rotterdam is the third largest harbour in the world and the largest harbour in Europe), and one of the most important airfields in Europe (Schiphol Airport), it also has the world’s largest Internet Exchange (traffic throughput wise). And well, I guess it’s also special for the soft-drugs policy of tolerance. I’ve never used it, and am never going to, but that seems to be what most foreigners know the country for.
EPMN: Were you born there?
GRST: Yes, in the ‘Flevoland’ province. Used to be the bottom of the ‘Zuiderzee’ (Southern sea), but they raised it, creating the world’s largest artificial island. I guess the Netherlands is special for that as well. Dutch engineers are employed all over the world for water management jobs.
EPMN: Tell us about the place you live in and work at.
GRST: Since I work from home, that’s the same place. I live and work in Gouda, famous for the cheese (which actually gets produced in other cities), the candles and the delicious syrup waffles. It’s close to the four biggest cities, yet is a rather small city itself, with beautiful countryside around it. Nothing beats getting out of the city into the peace and quiet of nature, and having the possibility to be back at your desk within 10 minutes.
EPMN: Do you have any special recommendations for visitors?
GRST: I think Amsterdam would be your safest bet. It has a bit of everything, making it suitable for almost everyone. Whether you are looking for culture, history, art, science, or just malls to spend your bucks, you will find it in Amsterdam.
EPMN: How much does a beer (or local drinks that a visitor should try) cost in a local bar in your city (in US-Dollars)?
GRST: Actually, I have no idea. I very rarely drink beer myself, and if I buy something in a bar, it’s always a round for everyone I’m with, so I only get to hear the total. Google reveals it’s $3, at the current exchange rate. If you get a beer, get a ‘Hertog Jan’ though, and if you like it, consider a tour of their brewery.
EPMN: What do you do when you are not developing?
GRST: In-line speed skating in the summer and ice speed skating in the winter. We have a 400m oval right here in Gouda where you can find me 3 times a week, if time allows.
EPMN: What can you see looking out of the window right now?
GRST: That I won’t be skating tonight. It’s supposed to be summer, but it’s raining as if it was October. My office window has a view onto the street in front of my house, and the 1930 houses of the people living across the street. Above that, I can see an airplane disappearing on its way from Rotterdam Airport to an unknown destination.
EPMN: What’s your screen saver /desktop background?
GRST: I have a picture of Danica Patrick on the podium at Twin Ring Motegi as my desktop background. That was one of the most historical and most hilarious moments in motorsport. I don’t have a screensaver configured.
EPMN: Are there any posters/photos in your office? What’s on them?
GRST: Besides the PHP5 cheatsheet poster, there’s a painting of a medieval sailing ship in rough weather, and an enlarged photo from my recent trip to Crete.
EPMN: What’s the last song you put on your MP3 player?
GRST: Ophidian – Butterfly (powerrave). Not many people like this kind of music, but it helps me concentrate (although that is probably the last thing you would expect when you listen to it).
EPMN: What kind of projects are you currently working on?
GRST: I’m working on the front-end of an SVN based ERP system, and on a document based content management system.
EPMN: Do you prefer working alone or in a team?
GRST: Definitely in a team. No one is perfect, no one knows it all, and there is always room for improvement. It’s great to be in a team that helps you out with all of that. And nothing beats peer review.
EPMN: Where are the developers you work with located? In the same room, building, city, country, continent?
GRST: I have to choose ‘none of the above’ here. The developers I get to work with are located in Israel and in the United States. At least that’s still on the same planet.
EPMN: Do you prefer working at day or at night?
GRST: Day is good for conversations; night is good for concentration and getting things done. I usually plan my day so I have a bit of both.
EPMN: Personal conversation, telephone, Skype or E-Mail?
GRST: I really prefer personal conversation, but that’s pretty much out of the question with my co-workers at the other ends of the world. So I’ll go with Skype IM here, as that allows you to have multiple conversations at the same time, while still being real-time.
EPMN: How do you acquire new projects?
GRST: Departments request changes and features. My team manager assigns those to the developers in the team.
EPMN: PHP described in one sentence?
GRST: The missing piece of the Internet’s success: with PHP opportunities become possibilities, in a timely manner. I doubt it’s a coincidence that both PHP and what we now know as the ‘dot-com bubble’ started in the same year (1995).
EPMN: The internet boom goes on – how will we be living in 50 years time?
GRST: Still unsatisfied and complaining about everything. That’s human nature, right? I do think that people will come closer together and will see social life as a virtue again, after a climax of commercially driven individualism. I just hope it doesn’t take 50 years to reach that climax. The net will blend into life more and more, assisting humanity in the things we’re bad at, or just don’t like. I don’t believe in machine-controlled societies.
EPMN: Where will you live in 10 years?
PB: I have no idea. I guess either still in the Netherlands, or in the USA. But who knows what will come my way in the future.
EPMN: Your wish for the future?
PB: Happiness and health for all the people I love, and who are dear to me. It does sound pretty cliché, but at the end of the day, company is the best thing you can have.
Gerrit “Remi” te Sligte: I live in the Netherlands. It’s special because it’s the port to Europe. Not only because of the major harbour (Rotterdam is the third largest harbour in the world and the largest harbour in Europe), and one of the most important airfields in Europe (Schiphol Airport), it also has the world’s largest Internet Exchange (traffic throughput wise). And well, I guess it’s also special for the soft-drugs policy of tolerance. I’ve never used it, and am never going to, but that seems to be what most foreigners know the country for.
EPMN: Were you born there?
GRST: Yes, in the ‘Flevoland’ province. Used to be the bottom of the ‘Zuiderzee’ (Southern sea), but they raised it, creating the world’s largest artificial island. I guess the Netherlands is special for that as well. Dutch engineers are employed all over the world for water management jobs.
EPMN: Tell us about the place you live in and work at.
GRST: Since I work from home, that’s the same place. I live and work in Gouda, famous for the cheese (which actually gets produced in other cities), the candles and the delicious syrup waffles. It’s close to the four biggest cities, yet is a rather small city itself, with beautiful countryside around it. Nothing beats getting out of the city into the peace and quiet of nature, and having the possibility to be back at your desk within 10 minutes.
EPMN: Do you have any special recommendations for visitors?
GRST: I think Amsterdam would be your safest bet. It has a bit of everything, making it suitable for almost everyone. Whether you are looking for culture, history, art, science, or just malls to spend your bucks, you will find it in Amsterdam.
EPMN: How much does a beer (or local drinks that a visitor should try) cost in a local bar in your city (in US-Dollars)?
GRST: Actually, I have no idea. I very rarely drink beer myself, and if I buy something in a bar, it’s always a round for everyone I’m with, so I only get to hear the total. Google reveals it’s $3, at the current exchange rate. If you get a beer, get a ‘Hertog Jan’ though, and if you like it, consider a tour of their brewery.
EPMN: What do you do when you are not developing?
GRST: In-line speed skating in the summer and ice speed skating in the winter. We have a 400m oval right here in Gouda where you can find me 3 times a week, if time allows.
EPMN: What can you see looking out of the window right now?
GRST: That I won’t be skating tonight. It’s supposed to be summer, but it’s raining as if it was October. My office window has a view onto the street in front of my house, and the 1930 houses of the people living across the street. Above that, I can see an airplane disappearing on its way from Rotterdam Airport to an unknown destination.
EPMN: What’s your screen saver /desktop background?
GRST: I have a picture of Danica Patrick on the podium at Twin Ring Motegi as my desktop background. That was one of the most historical and most hilarious moments in motorsport. I don’t have a screensaver configured.
EPMN: Are there any posters/photos in your office? What’s on them?
GRST: Besides the PHP5 cheatsheet poster, there’s a painting of a medieval sailing ship in rough weather, and an enlarged photo from my recent trip to Crete.
EPMN: What’s the last song you put on your MP3 player?
GRST: Ophidian – Butterfly (powerrave). Not many people like this kind of music, but it helps me concentrate (although that is probably the last thing you would expect when you listen to it).
EPMN: What kind of projects are you currently working on?
GRST: I’m working on the front-end of an SVN based ERP system, and on a document based content management system.
EPMN: Do you prefer working alone or in a team?
GRST: Definitely in a team. No one is perfect, no one knows it all, and there is always room for improvement. It’s great to be in a team that helps you out with all of that. And nothing beats peer review.
EPMN: Where are the developers you work with located? In the same room, building, city, country, continent?
GRST: I have to choose ‘none of the above’ here. The developers I get to work with are located in Israel and in the United States. At least that’s still on the same planet.
EPMN: Do you prefer working at day or at night?
GRST: Day is good for conversations; night is good for concentration and getting things done. I usually plan my day so I have a bit of both.
EPMN: Personal conversation, telephone, Skype or E-Mail?
GRST: I really prefer personal conversation, but that’s pretty much out of the question with my co-workers at the other ends of the world. So I’ll go with Skype IM here, as that allows you to have multiple conversations at the same time, while still being real-time.
EPMN: How do you acquire new projects?
GRST: Departments request changes and features. My team manager assigns those to the developers in the team.
EPMN: PHP described in one sentence?
GRST: The missing piece of the Internet’s success: with PHP opportunities become possibilities, in a timely manner. I doubt it’s a coincidence that both PHP and what we now know as the ‘dot-com bubble’ started in the same year (1995).
EPMN: The internet boom goes on – how will we be living in 50 years time?
GRST: Still unsatisfied and complaining about everything. That’s human nature, right? I do think that people will come closer together and will see social life as a virtue again, after a climax of commercially driven individualism. I just hope it doesn’t take 50 years to reach that climax. The net will blend into life more and more, assisting humanity in the things we’re bad at, or just don’t like. I don’t believe in machine-controlled societies.
EPMN: Where will you live in 10 years?
PB: I have no idea. I guess either still in the Netherlands, or in the USA. But who knows what will come my way in the future.
EPMN: Your wish for the future?
PB: Happiness and health for all the people I love, and who are dear to me. It does sound pretty cliché, but at the end of the day, company is the best thing you can have.
