mcville: Phu Ly Interview

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Phu Ly Interview

Oct 30, 06:23 PM by Marko

Interview with Phu Ly – at ifelse.co.uk

Marko:Hello Phu!
Phu:Hi Marko. Good to meet you!

Marko:For our readers, could you tell something about yourself?
Phu:Sure, though make sure you have a pillow ready as I’m pretty good at sending people to sleep when talking about myself. Well, how do I begin? I’m a 24 year old Londoner perhaps best known for the idle ramblings at ifelse.co.uk By day, I’m a developer helping to design and implement various pieces of digital ingenuity whilst by night I’m a crime-fighting, superhero blogger… well, apart from the crime-fighting, super hero part.

Marko:How are you doing these days?
Phu:Can’t complain too much. Food on the table, working in a job I enjoy, life is good. Just wished there were more hours in a day, and more days in a week [Smiles]

Marko:When did you first encounter a computer?
Phu:Hmmm… now that’s something which I need to think about. My first encounter with computers was probably when I was 8 where I discovered the wonders of a BBC Micro. From then on, it was a twisty path of discovery as I played around with a Sinclair Spectrum (my first ever computer), Acorn Archimedes, Commodore Amiga before I found myself with the ever so popular IBM PC of today.

Marko:What is your favorite website?
Phu:To be perfectly honest, there are far too many websites that I love for me to pick one above the rest. There’s John Gruber’s Daringfireball (http://daringfireball.net/), the MS fountain of knowledge that is Raymond Chen (http://blogs.msdn.com/oldnewthing/) as well as my good friends at the 9rules network (http://9rules.com).

Marko:When you launched ifelse.co.uk, were you happy with the result of the site?
Phu:[Laughs] When I launched ifelse, I had no idea that it would be anything like what it is today. I launched it with the intention of it being nothing more than a personal bookmarks page on the web. My very own del.icio.us of sorts. Hence, I went with WP instead of writing my own backend and hacked together a simple design to hold it together. Somehow, in the period between then and now, ifelse developed a life of its own and became the site you see today.

Marko:What do you do in your spare time (I do realize that spare time, in this context, is pretty relative)?
Phu:What is this spare time that you speak of? Outside of work and the web, I’m a diehard videogame addict. If by some chance, I’m not clutching a mouse or a control pad, you’ll probably find me indulging one of my other two vices, namely movies and football.

Marko:Do you have a favorite drink?
Phu:I used to drink Coca Cola a lot but you’re more likely to find me drinking water or orange juice nowadays.

Marko:Would you care to give us a brief overview of what a typical day is like for Phu Ly?
Phu:Is there such a thing as a typical day I wonder? A fairly significant proportion of my time is spent in front of a computer, whether that’s answering emails, developing, blogging or general web browsing. Outside of work, you’ll probably equally likely to find me watching TV/movie, playing football, reading a book or attempting to better myself at Ikaruga.

Marko:I am always wondering how people such as yourself go about getting work? How do you do it?
Phu:[Laughs] It tends to be that work finds you. I’m fortunate to have been able to work with a lot of talented people along the years and the common theme seems to be not to sit idle. If you’re not working, you should be learning and exploring. We’re fortunate to be living in an age of ample opportunities; all it takes is for us to stand up and take notice of them.

Marko:Who are some of your biggest influences?
Phu:I’m a big fan of the guys at 37signals. Simplicity and elegance are things which every designer/developer should have an affinity for. However, I absolutely adore “And All that Malarkey

Marko:Is your background in design? What was the progression into web development and design like? How did that take place and why?
Phu:My background is more technical than creative and that’s really how I found myself involved in web development. Back in the days before WP and MT were popular, I was dabbling in web development as I worked on writing a custom CMS (Content Management System). However, I’ve always had a creative side and as time went on, I found myself more and more involved and interested in the design side of web development as opposed to the backend, nitty gritty stuff.

Marko:If you were not a designer/programmer, what would you be?
Phu:I’ve a fond interest in economics, so chances are, I would have found my calling that way.

Marko:How do you like our site mcville.net?
Phu:[Laughs] You do know that I generally charge for this type of consulting?

Marko:What’s your favorite food?
Phu:Can’t beat good old family cooking.

Marko:Where do you get out on Saturdays?
Phu:What, people actually go out? Through their own free will?

some relaxing question to follow

Marko:Chinese or Thai (food)?
Phu:Chinese, no question.

Marko:Coke or Pepsi?
Phu:Coke, no question.

Marko:HTML or ASP?
Phu:Hmmm…that’s really comparing apples with oranges. The two don’t really have any relation apart from the fact that one is responsible for generating the other. And yes, I can be hopelessly pedantic at times.

Marko:Do you watch television? If so, do you have a favorite show?
Phu:Probably far too much. I enjoy sitcoms so stuff like Frasier and Fawlty Towers would feature highly. I also enjoy watching documentaries; a couple that I enjoyed recently were Ray Mears Bushcraft and Space Race.

Marko:What would we find in your favorites bookmarks-bar?
Phu:Bookmarks are so 2001! The blogroll on my site has a selection of my regular reads.

Marko:What inspires you? This doesn’t have to be design related.
Phu:Nature. Time and time again, I’m amazed and astounded by the beauty of the natural world. Simple pleasures for simple people, I guess [Smiles]

Marko:Thank again for having this interview, cheers!
Phu:No problem, it’s been my pleasure.

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Phu Ly Interview

Oct 30, 06:23 PM by Marko