About Me
I'm Ryan McGrath, a self-titled "Web Alchemist". I can transform the stupidest pile of junk into something
so incredibly great that it'll cause pigs to literally take flight.
Yeah, that's a bit of a bold statement, but I love the ever continuing challenge of backing it up. I've been floating around this field for the past five or six years, learning about various things that interest me. I'm entirely self taught with (and quite proficient in) HTML, CSS, and Javascript. I love focusing on the user experience and design, and I feel that it's easily the most important part of any end product.
I'm not entirely front-end focused, though. I've done quite a bit of server side work in my time, primarily focusing in on Python and Server-Side-Javascript projects. I'm fluent enough in Ruby and PHP to work, but for my own personal reasons I try to avoid them if I can. NoSQL for the win, but I won't rock the boat if it's already set sail.
What I do
I spend my days working as the head front-end guru at Webs.com, a service that allows millions of people to create their own websites. When I'm not busy saving the world with that gig, I work on a lot of side projects. Some are open source, some aren't, but they're all built with the intention of furthering my knowledge and helping people overall.
I also help edit a Javascript-focused magazine in my spare time. JSMag has been around for about a year now, and besides helping keep an entire community up to date on the latest news in the Javascript world, allows me to flex my writing talents even more. From 2005 - 2009, I was a regular writer for Linux.com (before they changed their format), and all my pieces are now archived here for posterity and reference.
I've given talks and presentations on the above topics, and I'm always looking for new opportunities in that same vein. I love running, I love trying new things, and I'm always up for an adventure.
About Veno
The story of Veno dates back a few years. My brother and I originally started Veno as a freelance web design business, but short of one or two projects we never really pushed the concept too far, and decided to shelve it for the future. The domain stayed around, though, since I had purchased it for a few years, and since my email that I use just about everywhere is on this domain, I figured I shouldn't let it go to waste.
For now, Veno exists as my web presence, a place to archive the various things I do around the internet. In the future, it could be anything, because we're sharks. Sharks are winners, and they don't look back because they have no necks. Necks are for sheep.
Contact Me (A.K.A, "Fill This Junk Out")
Looks like you missed a field. Please fill everything in and try again!