Hi there, I am Tord Nilsen
tldr; I am a Full-stack Developer and Marketing Specialist in GLAM sector.
Tord Nilsen Full Stack Developer
DRØBAK: The year is 1982 and Commodore Computers launches what is going to change the way we work with computers.
Between 10 and 17 million units were sold in the years 1982 to 1994, making it the best-selling computer ever, according to Guinness World Records.
In a basement room in Drøbak my life began as a developer.
-I still remember the day when the family got a PC in the house. My father, as one of three early-birds, had gotten hold of a Commodore 64.
- Along with this wonder machine that according to my father was to “change the world”, it came with a cassette player and one game, Jupiter Lander.
- The game was fun for a little while, but it was when I discovered that I could write POKE 53281.1 and the background color changed to white my interest awoke.
- C64 became a success and as a number of games came along, some of them were fun, but even more fun was learning the programming language BASIC that came with it.
- I came across a code snippet in machine-code and saw how much faster that program was running.
I was going to learn ASSEMBLY and I was 13 years old.
My adolescence was mostly programming. I served 15 months in the Navy before starting at the Agricultural College at Ås.
During my studies, I became a co-founder of a company that developed software for hotel and restaurant industry.
The concept we came up with was very forward-looking and the company went pretty well.
-Remember this was under the .com bubble and large companies were willing to invest.
I gained a lot of experience from this and decided to become a full-time programmer.
I started working for the electronics industry where I developed store and financial systems.
This was later extended to Gold, Watches, the perfume industry, as well as many freestanding stores.
All these years laid the foundation for who I am now:
-You almost have to explain what it means to be a Fullstack Developer. What programming languages do you know?
-A Full Stack Developer is a developer who manages everything from database design to user-interface.
Multiple programming languages should or should be mastered.
- I am very familiar with JavaScript, C #, ADA, VB.NET. I know Python, Perl, and PHP.
As a curiosity, I like Fortran77 and Turbo Pascal.
-By the way, ADA is named after the first female programmer, Ada Lovelace. She was an English mathematician. The programming language ADA is mainly used in the military and other places where code execution requirements are extremely important. Such as the Ariane 4 and 5 satellites, air traffic control, etc.
-So you’re a ninja programmer?
-Hehe. It probably depends on what you put into the concept. I am very fond of writing code, by all means. But I’m looking at a ninja programmer like someone who may not quite play with the rest of the team. And I’m definitely a team player.
- I also see the value of using existing frameworks and third-party solutions (open-source) for both the employer and the customer, as this can considerably shorten the development time.
- You mentioned user interface, do you have any favorite procedures there?
-So technically I use HTML5, CSS in Front-End these days. I often combine this with frontend frameworks such as AngularJS, SASS, REACT.
These days I have switched to Ionic 4 as a framework.
I also have great expertise on how to build a user interface. This is the lesson I have from when I make store computer systems, where one is particularly concerned about where buttons etc. are placed so that the store employee can quickly orient themselves on the screen.
-How is your database knowledge?
- I CAN database design. As a former developer in the financial industry, I master relational databases, replication technology to distribute data. I have many years of experience with MS-SQL.
I also work with FireBase and MongoDB
Hardworking and accurate
Pål Magndal in Elfo remembers me as an employee with extremely high work capacity.
-He worked a lot. Maybe too much at times. I remember he had a camp bed in the office that he stayed at if he didn’t get the last train home.
“He had good contact with both management, customers and employees,” says Magndal.
- Did you really have a camping bed in the office?
-Haha. Yes, that’s right. Is it Paul who said that? You see, I think it is fun to create something.
It’s probably the same urge to create something that a painter, composer or other types of artist knows.
Yes, maybe coding is also a form of art?
Digital Storytelling
I am very committed to the local community and our cultural heritage and have worked to make stories, images, art and culture available on digital platforms. Not least this is important for future generations, to quote Elie Wiesel:
Without memory, there is no culture. Without memory, there would be no civilization, no society, no future.
I became Niantic’s first Nordic partner. Niantic is the company behind the scroll. Pokemon Go.
Niantic was then owned by Google.
Niantic has created a tourist application for which I provide data.
Halden Industrimuseum. A Progressive web app that addresses many of the industries found in Halden.
Cultural Vision. A small app where the user takes a picture of an object and sees an overview of similar objects from Europe’s huge collection.
The app uses artificial intelligence to recognize the object in the image.
Singing songs and cabins in the treetops
Online visibility is one of my heartbeats. I give lectures on the topic of business and have guided and initiated several companies. The focus is on online visibility, strategic marketing, taking ownership of and managing one’s reputation, as well as enhancing competence in the use of available tools.
In recent years, I have worked on exciting projects such as Tretopphytter på Grensen, Allsang på Grensen, Halden Microbrewery and Brød og Vann.
— It is a bit funny to see advertising for their own app on TV2 at the best broadcast time.
DANBO
New technology
I am very keen to acquire new knowledge and new technology. At the same time, I have an experience background that enables me to assess whether this can be put into practice.
- Do you have any examples of this?
- Yes, many. Among other things, I dare say that the Beaconshypen should be put to death. If it is not already. The problem is that the major operating systems are unable to agree. Unfortunately. It's a cool technology, but probably not suitable for use on the public's private phones.
If you own the hardware, it's a little different.
- Much of the same problem is with Progressive Web Apps, like the one you're reading from now. But it's still in the starting pit yet, so we'll see. I have distributed 5-6 Progressive Web Apps now. With varying success.
-Do you have more examples?
- Augmented Reality is coming at full speed. And with more powerful and powerful phones, this is starting to get really good.
I myself work with a GPS based AR app in connection with the Viking ship found in Halden. The idea is that one should be able to be one's own archaeologist and find various objects around Jellhaugen.
- Something else very exciting is game engines, such as Unreal Engine. I've taken courses in that engine. Using map data from various sources, I have mapped the entire center of Halden. With buildings, elevation data and all.
As a user you can walk around the city freely and look at buildings and so on. Just like Fortnite, except that with me there are no weapons and the buildings are real.
- Imagine the combination of the game Portal, combined with historically correct buildings. And that you can be teleported in time.
Oooh, I wanted to make that. Now..
-You also participated in code competition?
- Yes, that's right. I joined Hack4NO in 2016. It's a little fun story.
- By coincidence, I saw on Facebook that something called K-Lab organized a workshop to work on data from the major players in Norway, namely the Mapping Authority, the Cultural Council, the National Antiquarian and the National Archives.
The workshop was open to everyone so I signed up. Then I had no idea what and who K-lab was.
-When I showed up, I got cold feet at first, I was the only private person present, but a warm welcome and encouragement to stay from the project manager there made me sit down in the chair.
-You have to remember that these people were my idols, my rock stars. Everyone from institutions I had only dreamed of getting in touch with.
-You just became a little s
You just became a little starstruck?
-Hehe, yes, you can say that. Not just a little either.
-These people were very nice and I felt really welcome. Some of them I have contacted yet.
-It sounds like you could imagine a job in the GLAM sector?
- Yes, that's right. GLAM, ie galleries, libraries, archives, and museums. That's where I want to be. I have worked hard and focused for many years on a position in GLAM and IT.
Leisure with meaning
-With 100% work and 100% competence building in your spare time, will there be little time for anything else?
- Yes, I hardly have time. But I try to make the best use of time and do things that I both get energy from and that I think are important.
- I love nature and use it a lot. Both forest and sea. But I think it's sad with all the garbage there.
To learn more about the problem and perhaps to inspire others, I have used Instagram, among other things, where I have an account that I call Tord_throws_trash. I ended up in the newspaper with it too. It's nice to be seen and to use social media that way too.
-I also have a website sailandsweep, sailboat soup in Swedish where I have focused on the littering of the Bohuslen coast. It's really bad there.
- Is there anything you want to say in the end?
- First of all, I want to say thank you to the readers who have come through this, in a hilarious way, the interview. And if you as a reader, my expertise sounds interesting, then don't hesitate to contact tord.nilsen@gmail.com
Danbo in Halden was a small experiment on social cues.
I took pictures of this 8 cm tall cardboard figure around Halden
It was the background of the picture that really mattered. I posted the pictures on social media to see if anyone was responding. Feedback deadline I set at 3 weeks. </div>
<div class = "infoText_white" #Dfouth> After 7 days, the local newspaper called. </div>
<div class = "3infoText" #Dthird> <br> <br> <br> </div>
</ Div>
</ Div>
<div class = "bio">
<p style = "font-weight: bold">
New technology
</ P>
<br>
I am very keen on acquiring new knowledge and new technology.
At the same time, I have an experience background that enables me to
consider whether this can be put into practice. As an example of new technology I have used I can mention
Augmented Reality, gaming technology such as Unreal Engine.
</ Div>
<div class = "bio">
<img class = "articleImage" src = "assets / imgs / hack4no.jpg">
<p style = "font-style: italic">
-You also participated in code competition?
</ P>
- Yes, that's right. I joined Hack4NO in 2016. It's really a little fun story.
<br>
- By coincidence, I saw on Facebook that someone who called themselves K-Lab organized a workshop to work on data from the major players in Norway, namely the Mapping Authority, the Cultural Council, the National Antiquarian and the National Archives.
<br>
The workshop was open to everyone so I signed up.
Then I had no idea what and who K-lab was.
<br>
-When I showed up, I got cold feet at first, I was obviously the only private person present, but a warm welcome and encouragement to stay from the manager who made me sit down in the chair.
<br>
-You have to remember that these people were my idols, my rock stars. Everyone from institutions I had only dreamed of getting in touch with.
<br>
<p style = "font-style: italic">
-You just became a little starstruck?
</ P>
-Hehe, yes, you can say that. Not just a little either.
<br>
-These people were very nice and I felt really taken care of. Some of them I have contacted yet.
<p style = "font-style: italic">
-It sounds like you could imagine a job in the GLAM sector?
</ P>
- Yes, that's right. GLAM is one better word for galleries, libraries, archives, and museums
I have worked hard and focused for many years on a position in GLAM and IT now.
<br>
- That would have been the dream ...
