Douglas Ireland, from the dial-up days.
I am Douglas Ireland. I built my first website in 1995. Originally from Manchester, I have lived in the west of Scotland since 2016, now settled in Paisley.
I have been online since the dial-up days. That was the internet before the noise: before the dopamine loops and the surveillance. It was slower, weirder, and more human. That is the web I try to build for.
I love music in all its forms. A few favourites: Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty, Dry Your Eyes by The Streets, Hurt by Johnny Cash. Books I re-read: 1984, Neuromancer, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Films that stick: Trainspotting, Children of Men, Hackers.
I work a desk job for the housing department at the council. I like that if I am to be a cog in a wheel for my day job, it is something that helps people and families in housing need.
When I am not at work, my hobbies are this project and my VPS. I use it to try to get big tech out of my life. I use my own cloud for photos, documents, calendar, and contacts; a VPN; and tools that respect the user. Stephanie and I share a shopping list and other things we use every day. I also follow Oldham Athletic.
Pure Contrast Tools grew out of that. For the full story of how it started and why we built it, see Why We Built This. I build and maintain; Stephanie was the inspiration and continues to shape the project.
If you like what I have built here and need accessible, privacy-first web applications for your own project, I take on freelance work. Income from that helps me devote more time to Pure Contrast Tools. My goal is to make Pure Contrast Tools my 9-5 and keep making it amazing.
To enquire, use the feedback form and mention that you are interested in commissioning work. I will reply to discuss your project.
The future is already here. It is just not evenly distributed.William Gibson