I am a coder from Auckland, New Zealand. I am currently working for NRC Systems, doing a range of things from Linux development and router setup to customer support (Nooo!). I'm also developing neat things like NRCs online customer help desk http://www.nrc.co.nz/help/ which is becoming very useful.

I am learning New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL), and I have been learning it since mid 2001.

Along with the New Zealand deaf culture, I also identify with klingon programmers. I code primarily in C, but have been spotted working in C++, Perl, PHP, Basic (No! I don't admit it!) and an assortment of other smaller languages.

Aside from programming languages and sign language I also speak Japanese, although due to lack of use, I've forgotten a lot of it. I hope to learn Russian, Spanish and English (in that order) after I have finished my sign language courses.

I am an INTP and use to be rather active in this field, however I dropped off quite a bit awhile ago, but am I making atleast a partial comeback, but I am definatly not going to sub to the 200/day mailing list. :)

I was at LCA (Linux Conf Australia, 2002) IRL (In real life) as Nick Clifford, so if you were there, email me and say hi.

I hope to goto Linux World Expo next year if I can find the money. (So far selling bodily organs hasn't produced much income, and I am rapidly loosing mass).

I attended Massey University a long time back and enjoyed it a lot, especially the amazing CompSci lecturer Peter Kay, who if you have, tell him I said hello.

I have also worked for M2 Technologies and Hotel Infotainment Systems in the past doing Linux backend and server development as well as kernel drivers and PowerPC porting.

For your convienance, you could scare the shit out of me and answer the question of If an E2 user called you, what would you say? by calling me on +64-27-288-9558.

The other less scary way of contacting me is by emailing me at <zaf@nrc.co.nz> but don't mention anything to do with print toner, viagra or hot girls having sex because my spam filter will dump it.

My best nodes

Nodes that I've written that I consider to be some of my best.

• Lung over-expansion injury
• Buoyancy control device
• SCUBA diving
• Touche (One of my first nodes)
• Deaf Culture
• Deaf Name
• Learning Sign Language

E2 History

• Nov 1998: First joined E2 (back then of course, it was called Everything, and we wore an onion on our belt, which was the fashion at the time), never did much.
• Jan 2001: Wrote my first few real nodes.
• Mar 2002: Really got into noding.
• 11 Mar 2002: Just broke 100 xp, yey with People of the eye.
• 10 Dec 2002: I'm still alive, honest
• 12 Dec 2002: Just to prove that I am, i'm now level 2 (yey), and have over 30 WUs now. But my merit is down :(. I need to boost that. Time to write some super WUs.
• 5 Nov 2003: I'm one of those noders. I'm back again. I wonder how long I'll stick around this time? E2 seems to have mellowed a bit these days, which is good. Back last year it seemed much more political, but maybe that was because I was more into it than I am at the moment.