Identity
Ricky knows HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, the core building blocks of many websites and web apps. He also knows his way around WordPress. His main limitation is that he hasn’t yet built apps that rely on full databases beyond basic formats like JSON or XML. That hasn’t stopped him from creating useful and well-functioning tools. Most of his apps use browser-based storage, saving data locally through localStorage. While this isn’t optimal for scalability, it’s a deliberate constraint. He chose it to keep projects manageable and avoid unnecessary complexity. His most advanced app so far is Freewriter Pro, which contains a substantial amount of code.
Ricky got into web design through a fascination with the internet’s potential to make the world a better place.
He learned to build websites at TAFE while being diagnosed with schizophrenia. At the time, the internet became a central focus of his delusions while he was not yet properly medicated. Rather than pulling him away, this drove him to better understand how the web works so he could take part in it.
During TAFE, his first real use of JavaScript was building a gambling-style game. He surprised his teacher by creating an interface made up of images and text that resembled a rudimentary casino-style experience, while others were still working with basic text layouts.
Ricky later dove deeper into JavaScript by building writing apps for himself. When ChatGPT arrived, it became a turning point, allowing him to build far more in far less time.
While he understands code well enough to read, interpret, and modify it, much of his current workflow involves prompting the computer to generate code rather than writing everything from scratch. He uses AI as leverage to accelerate output, while maintaining control over how things work.