Andrew Starling - a brief biography

UK Developer and Web Editor

I'm a contractor, usually employed behind the scenes by Web sites, Internet agencies and software companies. Currently I spend most of my time working for a software company doing ASP pages and VBA. I'm also involved with the office automation company formscribe.

I was editor of the UK Government's Small Business Service. and a usability advisor for the UK Cabinet Office committee on The Quality Framework for UK Government Website Design.

I do commercial XHTML/CSS2 with an accessibility angle, including much of the original coding for the BFI screenonline site. And under the pseudonym of Paige Turner (yes, she was beautiful) for two years I was the JavaScript Weenie on the internet.com site, Web Developer's Journal. So I'm very familiar with JavaScript, and also strangely familiar with marriage proposals from male geeks.

I've written dozens of articles for internet.com, most of them listed here. I was also technology editor of the UK's original Internet Magazine, for EMAP.

That's enough work nonsense. Actually far too much, but like anybody else on this planet I have to make it look like my skills are essential for mankind's existence. Or failing that, are worth paying for.

On the personal side, when I have the time I like to write short stories and novels. Recently I wrote a novel about an artificial intelligence with a sex drive, Vince's Desire. My three Internet novels get combined viewing figures of around 1,000 a week.

I like to travel too. Back in my twenties I drove a truck overland from Johannesburg to London, which took six months and was quite exciting. And later I spent nine months travelling by bus, train and ferry from Bangkok to Sydney via Sumatra, Flores and Timor.

My Web sites are Foxglove.co.uk and Tinhat.com. Foxglove (this site) is a satirical site and was a Mirror newspaper site of the day. It's also home to most of my fiction writing. Tinhat is more serious and delves into usability, accessibility, and Internet security.

If you'd like to contact me, my email address is ajs@foxglove.co.uk. This address changes periodically, just to keep spammers on their toes.