FAQ

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Who are you?
Why is this site called Coyote Gulch?
So what do all the lizards mean?
Why do you give away programs?
Who do you work for?
Do you work for companies outside the U.S.?
Why don't you update your blog every day?
Are you the same Scott Ladd who wrote all those books?
What books have you written?
Why haven't you written any books since 1998?
How did you get into computers?
What programming languages do you use?
Where did you learn about Artificial Life and Complexity?
What kinds of computers do you have?
Why aren't all of your applets released as Open Source?
How did you learn so much?

Who are you?

I'm a humanoid, of Northern European descent, a U.S. Citizen, a husband, a father of three wonderful daughters, and a right-wing leftist. In the world of computer programming, I'm widely-known for writing several books on software development, C++, Java, and evolutionary computing.

Why is this site called Coyote Gulch?

I like coyotes, and I used to hike in a place called "Coyote Gulch". The coyote (pronounced k-eye-oh-tee) is a medium-sized canid that ranges across most of North America; a "gulch" is a small ravine. The name doesn't mean anything; it just sounds right to me.

So what do all the lizards mean?

Much as I like coyotes, they don't make good pets. I do have eight lizards in my office, ranging from a fiesty iguana named Rex to a pair of Gherrosaurus validus (an african plated lizard). Coyotes do live in the area, but lizards just seem to be a more appropriate desktop companion. ;)

Why do you give away programs?

By nature, I write code; it's "what I do," both for recreation and profit. Most of the profit comes from people who visit this web site, either in the form of conversation or paid development work. I enjoy sharing what I enjoy; if other people enjoy it, too, they'll remember my name, and perhaps think of me when a paying programming project comes along. I also like to make people think, and to expand the definition of what software can do. Few motivations in life are simple; distributing "free" (as in liberty and beer) software is both an social exercise and a tool for displaying my talents.

Who do you work for?

Anyone who's willing to pay me for an honest day's work! As of 1 May 2002, I'm back to writing and consulting full-time; my previous full-time project has come to an end after two successful years. In the most basic terms: I develop custom software for "heavy lifting" -- data mining engines, analysis tools, and processor-side, multi-processing applications. I'll be posting more about my consulting work soon. Meanwhile, I'm pursuing several opportunities as a writer.

Do you work for companies outside the U.S.?

Yes! In fact, since 2003, 75% of my income has come from overseas — Britain, Poland, Germany, Australia, and the Netherlands. While I only speak two languages (English and Bad English) due to a complete inability to learn them, my wife is very conversant in Spanish and a few other tongues.

Why don't you update your blog every day?

When you don't see anything new on the blog (or this site's front page), it's because I'm very busy, usually working on something for a client. Frankly, I'm not certain why I have a blog — I don't really think most people care what movies I watch, or what I think of the Florida public school system, for example. So I simply post when the whim strikes, whatever that whim might be.

Are you the same Scott Ladd who wrote those books?

If you're talking about these books on computer programming, then I'm your man. There is a book by a "Scott Ladd" about "Computers and the Brain" back in the late 1980s, but he isn't me. At last count, I've found over a dozen people named "Scott Ladd", including one who lives only a mile or two from my current abode. I've never met any of the others, and so far as I can determine, I'm the only Scott Robert Ladd in existence.

What books have you written?

Here's a partial list; in all, I've written 17 books on topics ranging from C++ to genetic algorithms. I've written a couple of books that never saw print, even though I was paid for them; publishers sometimes do strange stuff like that. On the other hand, I'm rather glad Microsoft never published my 1989 book on QuickPascal... ;)

Why haven't you written any books since 1998?

First of all, I have written books since 1998. I just finished a book for O'Reilly; then an editor quit, the company changed direction, and the book languishes with an unknown future. I am working on another computer programming book for another publisher, with details to be announced once I actually have details. For my diatribe on publishing and writing for a living, see this article.

How did you get into computers?

Way Back When (the late 1970s), my high school had a teletype connected to the Univac 1110 at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. The school eventually bought an 8080-based Sol II computer (8K static RAM!), which had a nifty character-based Star Trek program... anyway, soon thereafter, my parents bought one of the first Radio Shack Model 1's, which kept me hacking (I programmed it in assembly) until I entered college. While pursuing a degree in Astronomy, I did development on a PDP-11 for the Physics Department. I moved from stars and planets to bytes and compilers, taking my first professional job in 1980 as a COBOL programmer. Since then, my career has meandered from financial institutions to government agencies; from 1989 onward, I've been self-employed as a writer and consultant.

What programming languages do you use?

Almost all of them. In historical order, I've written programs in MBasic, Z-80 assembler, FORTRAN, COBOL, FORTRAN (again), Pascal, Modula-2, i886 assembler, C, C++, Java, Fortran 95, Python, and C#. My programming language of choice is C++, but I'm quite fond of Python these days, and Java has some good points, too. To quote one of my mentors, Montgomery Scott: "Use the right tool for the right job!" While I have my preferences, I'm always looking for the most powerful and flexible tool for engineering whatever comes my way. You can read my article on this topic here.

Where did you learn about Artificial Life and Complexity?

I read a lot of books, attended some conferences, and researched interesting topics online. In the last seven years, I've written dozens of evolving programs using techniques ranging from simple genetic algorithms to my more recent work with evolving finite state machines. See my answer about learning below. 

What kinds of computers do you have?

We have several functional computers in the house (don't ask me about the parts pile!). My primary systems include:

Corwin (Homemade)
Gentoo AMD64 GNU/Linux, Kernel 2.6 SMP (custom)
Dual Opteron 246, Tyan K8W 2885
120GB Seagate 7200 RPM ATA 133 HD
120GB Maxtor 7200 RPM ATA-133 HD
2GB PC2700 DRAM
external USB DVD-everything
Radeon 9000 Pro, 128MB, NEC FE990

Greythorn (HP/Compaq V2321 laptop)
Windows XP Pro SP2
1.6GHz AMD Turion, 1MB cache
80GB 4200 RPM HD, DVD-everything
768MB PC2700 DRAM (128MB used by video)
Radeon XPress 200M, 128MB, 1280x768 WXGA

Tycho (Homemade)
Gentoo x86 GNU/Linux, Kernel 2.6 (also Windows XP SP2) 3.06GHz Pentium 4 w/HT, Intel D850EMV2, 533MHz FSB
2x80GB Maxtor D740X 7200 RPM ATA-100 HD
512MB PC800 RDRAM
Radeon 9000 Pro, 128MB, HP f70 DFP

Several older machines have gone into mothballs, including a dual 600MHz Pentium III, an old Toshiba laptop, and a Sun Ultra 10 (Sparc). Only God knows what is buried in my garage... I think I saw a 386SX motherboard the other day.

Why aren't all of your applets released as Open Source?

Time. It just takes time to add the proper notices, clean up any minor bugs, package the source code, and post it for download. And I've recently been distracted by silly issues like making money and playing with my kids.

How did you learn so much?

We learn by doing as much as by studying. As Robert Heinlein said, "Specialization is for insects." The more you know, the more you can do.