mcville: James Mathias Interview

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James Mathias Interview

Feb 12, 12:27 PM by Marko

Interview with James Mathias at 1lotus.com:

Marko: Hello James lol ;) !
James: ‘ello Marko.

Marko: For our reader’s could you tell something about yourself? (year old and other stuff)
James: I’m 31, 32 in July. I live in Northern Idaho with my wife, our two sons, a cat, a pug and two rats. I’m a web designer/developer and Artistic Outlaw, been in trouble with the art-law since the day I was born. In my spare time I enjoy watching movies, reading books, listening to music and playing console games. Although, with a full time business to run, two kids and my wife, I don’t have much of what one could call spare time, I try to steal from Father Time whenever I can, I’m a bad man.

Marko: How are you doing these days?
James: Great, thanks for asking. We just bought a House in Idaho, and going from smallish rent to largish mortgage has definitely been a journey. Business is great, family is great, Battlestar Galactica is awesome!

Marko: When did you first encounter a keyboard or computer?
James: When I was in the 7th grade, in the “computer lab” we had the old RS Tandy 2000 you know where you can type your name and then goto run or something like that (been 19 years) and it fills the screen with your name over and over ad nauseam.

Marko: What is your favorite art work /website!?
James: I like art from anyone that has a masterful feel, Dali and Escher are my favorite famous artists. I also like modern artists like Watterson, Schultz, Larson and Martin (if you get that last one I’ll be impressed). On the web I like Jenn’s work over at qrow.com As for web-sites, hmmm, who do I like? I don’t know, I’m going to have to find some sites I like.

Marko: when you launched 1lotus.com are you happy with the result of the site?
James: Originally no, I was restless, the design wasn’t good enough, but that was the original launch, now with the fifth version of the site I am very happy with it’s overall look and feel, and I keep finding ways to tweak it to make it better, where as in the past I would have just redesigned it.

Marko: What do you do in your spare time (We realize that spare time, in this context)
James: I watch movies, read books, listen to music, play console games, take walks and play basketball when I can. I also enjoy spending time with my family as much as I can, it’s a real gift to be able to work from home and be within hugging distance of my family.

Marko: Do you have a favorite drink? How much of it do you drink?
James: I like Watermelon Ice Gatorade a lot, I don’t drink as much of it as I’d like (kind of spendy) I do however drink a great deal of water. I also enjoy tea, and flavored waters.

Marko: Would you care to give us a brief overview of what a typical day is like for James Mathias ?
James: Well I am going to quickly run through this, I wake at 5am, do my bathroom businesses, eat breakfast, brush my teeth, take a 30 minute walk, work work work, eat lunch, brush my teeth, take a 30 minute walk, work work work, take a 30 minute walk, eat dinner, play play play, brush my teeth, sleep.

Of course there is other stuff in there and different days yield different results, but for the most part that’s the typical day, it’s probably why A&E is not knocking down my door for a reality show about web design.

During the times labeled “work work work” I work on business related things, client work, continued education, bills etc. During the “play play play” times I work on personal projects.

Marko: I am always wondering how people such as yourself go about getting work? How do you do it?
James: For the past 3 years Onelotus Creative has run completely on word of mouth advertising, most of our work comes from people telling people that we’re good, the best part is that a lot of times it’s people that have never hired us, just like our work, that are telling folks about us. We want to put some advertising options into play this year, and I am trying to utilize social avenues for traffic gains as well.

Marko: Who are some of your biggest influences?
James: I am influenced by life, and nature, spirituality, my sons, my wife, Norm Abram and man made, utilitarian constructs like hospitals. I have been asked before if I look up to anybody on the web, and I can honestly say no. There was a time when I thought certain people were better than me because they had more exposure or better exposure, but as I go along I realize that they are not necessarily better, but maybe just in a better position. So I can’t say anyone specific on the web influences me.

Marko: Is your background in design? What was the progression into web development and design like?
James: My background is a white wall, needs to be painted. Uh, no, my background is in the automobile industry 10 years I spent working on cars and for other people who under paid and under appreciated me. I’ve always been an artist, but before Onelotus I never got paid for it, just praised, which I suppose is payment in itself. I got into development of web-sites because a friend of a friend was visiting and he showed me how to make a simple html page that said “Hello James!”. It literally blew my mind that you could type these simple codes and make art appear on the other side, I have been lustfully hooked ever since.

Marko: If you where not a designer/programmer what would you be?
James: I would try to be an author, or I guess I wouldn’t mind being a stand up comedian, not a famous one just a dive bar stand up or even a bad indie rock band singer.

Marko: How do you like our site mcville.net?
James: It’s much better since you redesigned. The last site was a little cluttered and I felt sorta lost. But, this new one is much better,

Marko: If you could change something on mcville what would it be?
James: I’d remove the bastard banner from the left sidebar, oh and place a Onelotus Banner in it’s stead!

Marko: What kind of music do you fancy?
James: Good music. I don’t believe in genre’s. In my view there are only two kinds of music, good and bad. Some of my favorite singers/bands are; the beatles, pink floyd, neil young, neil diamond, the carpenters, america, system of a down, carole king, styx, anything from the 80’s “snyth-pop” era, they might be giants, foo fighters, stone temple pilots, guns and roses, barenaked ladies and many, many more.

Marko: What’s your favorite food?
James: I am a sucker for pastas, it is hard to resist pasta. But I enjoy lot’s of different kinds of food, my favorite currently is “Rocky Mountain Spazghetto”.

Marko: Where do you get out on Saturday’s?
James: I don’t go out on Saturday’s, I’m married with kids. Plus even if that weren’t the case I live in a small mountain town with nothing to do.

some relaxing question to follow

Marko: Chinese or Thai (food)?
James: Hmmm, never had Thai, so I’ll say Chinese

Marko: Coke or Pepsi?
James: Neither, I’ve seen what they can do to corroded battery cables, no thanks I like my stomach lining.

Marko: html or css?
James: They work together so I can’t choose one or the other, I like both.

Marko: Do you watch television? If so, do you have a favorite show?
James: I watch only tivo’ed shows, so I don’t have to watch commercials. I like Stargate (both), Battlestar Galatica, Monk, CSI’s (all), Law & Order’s (except original), Ghost Whisperer, lost, Bones and Survivor (thanks Roger) and that’s about it.

Marko: What would we find in your favorites bookmarks-bar?
James: A ton of stuff, mostly crap though, time wasters, all the “standard” web developer bookmarks. and of course all my client and personal localhost work is bookmarked for quick testing.

Marko: What inspires you? This doesn’t have to be design related.
James: My sons, Life, humanity, imperfection, the standard fare.

Marko: Thank again for having this interview James,bye !
James: Thank you Marko, it was quite fun!

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James Mathias Interview

Feb 12, 12:27 PM by Marko