Creator, Shmeator

"Creator"... "Webmaster"... "Computer Guy"... and a few more names not worth repeating. I'm just another of the "baby-boomers" taken by the new technologies I've waited all my life to develop. The new century is making science fiction a reality and I'm here to participate in it, with more pounds and years than I care to carry with me.

If you've looked around this Web site a bit, whether you like it or not, you can see that there has been a bit of time spent on it. Originally, in 1995, I had two ideas:

  1. As long as I had a lot of knowledge of computers, and used them to assist me in my interests, I could share that knowledge & information with others using the Internet.
  2. I wanted to learn to create Web pages and had hopes someone would recognize my work here to "make me an offer I couldn't refuse."

For various reasons, that offer didn't materialize and now I am truly content knowing that some people out there simply enjoy coming to a space I created from scratch.

The phrase "from scratch" really applies here. I use a text editor to create the HTML behind the pages you see here, not some Web page creation software. And I use graphics programs to create most of the pictures and images here, too. The whole endeavor mixes both the left- and right-sides of my brain in a way that is the perfect massage for my creative juices and my science/math proclivities. If you are interested, you can find more about using what I've learned along the way HERE.

Another Phrase

The phrase "The Future Lies Within" bears a mention here. It appears on the "front-door" to Ambit. It's a reminder of two things:

First, the obvious. We are all doing things via the Internet in new ways that were largely undreamed-of thirty and more years ago. Yet here we are, sitting in front of a sort of TV set, typing, talking and sometimes seeing people, places and events in a new, immediate light. The world seems smaller and more reachable. Information more accessible. Ideas more in abundance. And you can access a lot of it within Ambit's Web pages.

It isn't an anti-gravity, teleportation, space-travel future, but it is surely more technologically advanced than the mid-20th century. And that raises the second point.

What "the future" means is within each of us. Truly. It is defined by our expectations and dreams. And that is what determines what really lies ahead for us, individually, and as residents on this planet. I'd be happy if you thought of that any time you see the phrase "The Future Lies Within" here on Ambit.

Want To Know More? Read On ->

Well, since you are still reading this, I'll tell you more about myself.

I was born in 1947. Watched my first science fiction movie in the early-Fifties and was hooked. I was:

I'm not near New York City. That's over 60 miles a way. I'm in developing suburbs and near farmlands. Yes, Long Island has those, in abundance, but less so with every passing decade.

I wasn't sure what I wanted to do when I "grew up" until personal computers hit the scene in the very early '80's. Anyone who knows me from that time on, knows it is central to me every day. And to this day, I find so much about computers fascinating and involving. They are worlds unto their own, yet have still to find their true niche in the rest of the world. But they are nudging themselves into place. And I'm glad I understand as much as I do, because it seems like a good thing, all in all, not something unknowable or frightening, as it does to so many.

Since you may be wondering why I have so much time to fiddle with Ambit, I'll touch on that unanswered question.

Nearly fifteen years ago, I unexpectedly wound up at home with a disability that keeps me as much horizontal as it does allow me to be vertical. So, with more than a little time on my hands, I have worked on this Web site, a little at a time, until it has reached proportions even I hadn't imagined when I began in 1995.

So Who Pays For This?

I pay for it, using what I know about computers and all to keep costs affordable. "Affordability" has reached its limits and Ambit will not likely grow still larger in the foreseeable future.

I limit use of the site as a money-maker to a very few ads that have real value to Ambit's visitors. I experimented with doing more than that and here's what I found: "associate programs," "banner click-throughs," and other schemes, make VERY small amounts of money, even at well-attended personal sites like this one. They might be good for large commercial sites, and for pornography & gambling sites, but, as anyone who uses the Web knows, those ads and banners do not add anything to the experience. So I leave Ambit relatively devoid of such things, believing that it makes Ambit more of a "place" you'll want to come back to.

But... I've done all I can and Ambit's costs keep growing. You can help my family and I to make things a little easier budget-wise.

If you'd like to help out, use this button to make any size donation you wish:

Of course, it's entirely up to you. We genuinely appreciate your sending any small amounts along. They will honestly be a great help.

Thanks for taking the time to read this page. I'm writing it on my birthday, pretty much as a reminder to the world that I am here, even as, at most, a footnote in most people's lives. I hope you'll return to Ambit often and see what else has developed.

Take care, and I'll end with this wish for you, often written by people using computers: "Enjoy!"

Ira Brickman

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Updated on: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 at 05:41 AM MST

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